To Fill A Void
by Princess Dystopia
Summary: Kyan, mute-turned-loudmouth, lives a rather boring life. She studies, tends to her family's restaurant, and watches in jealous rage as her sister marries the young Kazekage's brother. A void appears in her life, a void that can only be filled by one who is also missing aspects of his life. [Sequel to Just Fall] [GaaraxOC]
1. Scroll One: I Don't Dance

Hello once again, everyone! This is indeed the sequel to Just Fall which was the sequel to Trust. It felt wrong for me to just leave Kyan's and Gaara's story in the dust, so after about a year after finishing the last installment, I'm going to pick it back up!

I hope you all enjoy reading this as much I know I'll enjoy writing it.

* * *

**_Scroll One; Chapter One:_**

**_I Don't Dance_**

A rumble above me. He knew I was there all along.

"Go, go, go," I whispered to myself, focusing Chakra into the bottoms of my feet. In a quick flash, I bolted from my hiding spot, escaping the wave of sand that came crashing down on the rock I hid myself under. As I sprinted, sand shot up in front of me, blocking paths I was going to take to flee.

I leaped up, pressing my feet against an earthy wall that sprung up before me and pushing myself back, landing in a messy flip. As I tilted my head, I saw Sunagakure not far in the distance, crowded with more people than usual. I mentally groaned, only to find my left ankle wrapped in a hand of hard grain.

"Shit!" I hissed, crushing it with my free foot. It broke into two pieces, allowing me to launch myself away from it. "One chance to hit him. Only one."

I needed the reminder as I gathered enough courage to reach into my pouch, grabbing three senbon between my fingers. Instead of looking up to see his familiar figure, he was nowhere to be seen. I came to an immediate halt.

"Behind you," his voice whispered. I whipped my hand around, expecting to stab his face with my weapons. I only collided with a sand sculpture of himself, which promptly tackled me to the ground before I could realize it was a fake.

"Damn it!" I yelled in frustration, flailing the blanket of sand off my body. No matter how many times I practiced, I couldn't even land one solid hit. Especially this time. I had no chance. However, there were plenty of distractions floating around in my head.

Gaara's true body appeared before me in a whirlwind of desert as I stood to my feet, brushing off my clothes. I couldn't get too dirty. This event was formal, after all. Even Gaara sported casual clothes.

"You're not focusing enough, Kyan," Gaara told me, giving a disapproving look. "You're letting yourself get distracted."

"And you're not distracted by it?" I asked him, placing my hands on my hips. "Not even a little bit?"

He didn't reply, but I knew I was right. It was hard for both of us to believe that today was the day.

"You know, its not every day the Kazekage's brother gets married."

()()()

I found myself in the bathroom shortly after, watching my older sister pace back and forth while trying to comb the stray sand grains from my hair. Temari, who had just finished her own make-up, slapped my sister's hand from her mouth.

"Don't you dare chew at your nails," she warned. "I put so much time and effort into making them pretty and I won't let you screw that up, Haketa."

"SHUT UP, INO PIG!"

With a nearly invisible motion, Temari kicked the door open and hoisted Sakura up by the front of her dress. "And so help me, if you and your bratty ass friend ruin my brother's wedding, I will destroy you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes ma'am," Sakura choked out.

I sighed heavily, lacing my hair into a neat braid. Some habits never die and that included my sister's nail biting.

I had to admit: I was nervous too. I'd never attended a wedding. I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was that Gaara was going to walk me down the aisle, something we'd practiced together a thousand times, and Kakashi would ultimately walk my sister. Gaara, as Kazekage, would eventually recite some ancient lines he'd drilled into his head and the elders would recite theirs and, bam, our two families would become one. Then, I would force some tears and try to sneak away from the dancing bit of the ceremony.

Jeez, marriage is overrated.

"Kyan," my sister whispered. I turned from my reflection to find her bent over against the wall, holding her head between her legs. "I can't do this. I'm so fucking scared. I'm not even eighteen yet."

I gave up on my hair, allowing the black curls bounce down along my back. Kneeling next to her, I took her face in my hands. "You can do this. If you can chase after some crazy bitch on your own, you can commit yourself to Kankuro. And, you know, marriage doesn't automatically mean you have to start popping out babies right away. It'll be just like you're dating him, just with more jewelry."

I took her left hand in mine, examining the flashy engagement ring that Kankuro had stressed himself out over for months. What size? What kind of gem? Gold or silver? There were way too many options for him to handle.

In the end, he had settled on a simple silver ring with a diamond settled in the middle of two half-circles. Haketa immediately fell in love with it and I didn't want to admit to my jealousy.

Temari's head popped around the corner and before she could ask if we were ready, her eyes settled on my sister's crippling image. "Hey," she mumbled, kneeling on her other side. "Don't cry. I worked hard on your make-up. Look, I know, you're scared, but so is Kankuro. This is huge for him. I could never picture him getting married before you came along. Yet here we are: twenty minutes away from sealing the de—"

"Oh god," Haketa muttered, leaning away from us to stick her head in the toilet. I covered my ears to block out the retching noise.

"This is going to be interesting."

()()()

"Whoa."

I peeked around the corner, staring at the back heads of hundreds of people, covered by small umbrellas and the like. Some Suna residents even leaned out their windows to watch the ceremony.

Nervousness finally hit my gut. I had to walk between all these people with Gaara. It was a given that all eyes would be on him. Why did he have to be the Kazekage? And why did I agree to be the maid of honor?

Kankuro stood near the altar, handsomely dressed in a generic tux. Although he was cracking some (probably lame) joke with the elder, I knew he was nervous. He fiddled with his hands behind his back. That was a sure sign.

My mother, who was seated in the very front row, turned and searched around for familiar faces. Once we made eye-contact, she waved frantically, tears already streaming down her face. I now understood why Haketa puked.

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked from behind me. I jumped nearly out of my skin, returning to the safety of the hidden street we stood in.

"Um, ye-yeah, I'm good," I replied, smoothing out my dress. "You?"

He took my place to peek around the corner. Before he could notice, I took his presence in. The way the tux hugged his body, the way his hair could never be neat for any occasion, the way his fingers drummed spastically on the wall.

"Nothing I haven't faced before."

I sighed and stood straight just in time for a low melody to play. Everyone hushed each other until the area fell silent.

Hurriedly, Gaara took his place behind Kasaji, Kankuro's best friend, and Kiba. Kakashi, who stood last, took a quick glance at the book he had hidden in his suit. I stood behind Temari and Sakura, reaching back to grab my sister's hand. I rubbed circles on her skin slowly, knowing it had a small chance of calming her.

"I'm gonna puke again," Haketa whispered just loud enough for our group to hear.

"Please don't," I replied, wrapping my hand around Gaara's arm. "I'm sure you won't be the only who does."

I heard Gaara exhale slowly before whispering, "Okay. Let's go."

We began to walk in sync, although for every step he took, I had to take two to keep up. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to rid myself of the uneasy sensation throughout my body. As expected, every pair of eyes settled on us. I tried to ignore them the best I could and concentrate entirely on Gaara's stride, but when whispers echoed around us, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander to the villagers.

"Kyan," Gaara hissed, flexing his arm. "Focus."

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached Kankuro. I broke away from Gaara to stand opposite of them. I glanced down the dreaded sea of people we'd just parted then back to the redhead, only to find him just finishing staring me up and down. We met gazes and instantly looked away.

Temari and Kasaji followed. He looked as proud as could be to have to her hanging on his arm, but she looked quite miserable. It seemed, if one looked close enough, that she was dragging him faster toward us. Anything to get away from him.

Next came Sakura and Kiba. As I watched them make their way down the aisle and take their appropriate sides, I noticed their hands lingered and for a split second, I saw her look back at him desperately.

"What is this?" I murmured to myself.

Finally, Haketa rounded the corner with Kakashi. My mother, upon seeing her, immediately broke into sobs. I turned my attention to Kankuro, who looked as if he'd stopped breathing. Quickly, he lifted a hand and ran it over his face, stopping it midway to cover the obvious smile.

All the nervousness and stress in Haketa's body seemed to disappear. She walked straight at an eased pace, staring only at her future husband. I'd never seen her look at him with so much adoration and passion before. It a sense, it scared me.

When she finally came to face Kankuro after placing the bouquet in my hands, Kakashi took a seat next to my hysterically crying mother. Again, I caught Gaara's stare. This time, we didn't break away. He looked as confused and scared as I felt.

The ceremony fell into a drabble of official words from the elder, Haketa, and Kankuro. They promised to love each other until the end of their days, blah, blah, blah…

Gaara and I finally broke contact when it was his turn to speak. I didn't listen. I could only stare at the bundle of flowers in my hands.

"_This is so…unreal,"_ I thought. _"My sister, getting married. What the hell is going on?"_

Before I knew it, the two were kissing. Gaara watched them intently. Beside me, Sakura sniffled loudly.

"Oh, don't even start with that crap," I hissed to her.

I handed the bouquet back to my sister – my _married_ sister – and watched as she and her husband returned down the aisle, hand-in-hand. Claps and cheers surrounded them.

"Kyan! Kyan! Pictures!" my mother screeched. Only then did I realize most of the crowd had dispersed to another common area.

I felt as if I was in a daze as I stood next to Sakura and Temari to smile awkwardly and wait for a flash. Eventually, my sister found her way back to us to pose. The couple pictures came then. Gaara and I snuck our way to the back of the line to go last, just to watch how it was supposed to be done a few times.

"Okay, Kyan, stand next to Lord Kazekage," my mother coached, motioning me closer to him. I followed her instructions slowly. "And m'lord, let her grab your arm – oh, perfect! This is the best one! Both of you smile, now!"

I didn't smile. I knew Gaara didn't either.

()()()

"Look at all this food! I'm starving!" I announced, peering over the endless amount of food. My stomach growled viciously as I grabbed a plate and pushed through people.

"You don't want to get your dress dirty if you're going to dance, right?" Temari asked from behind me, her arms crossed over her chest.

I rolled my eyes and shrugged, plopping a huge helping of soba noodles onto my plate, avoiding most of the liquid. "I don't dance," I told her. "I eat and study. That's about it."

She gave a small huff and returned to her seat next to Kasaji, who yawned and stretched an arm around her shoulders. After obtaining all my desired food, I sat next to Gaara, who uninterestedly watched our siblings dance together. I pushed my plate closer to him.

"Want some?"

"No, thank you. I don't have an appetite."

"Suit yourself," I muttered, taking a quick (and probably unattractive) bite. As I ate, my eyes followed Haketa and Kankuro. Sporadically, they would kiss and he would whisper something to her. She would laugh and look at him as if he was the only man in the world. And he would stare at her as if she were the first woman he ever laid eyes on.

I pushed the plate of half-eaten food away from me. I wasn't hungry anymore. I wasn't sure what I was. Jealous, irritated, annoyed.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked, breaking his stare.

"I don't have an appetite."

"Suit yourself," he replied, grabbing the plate from in front of me.

Eventually, more people decided to crowd the dance floor, picking partners to sway their bodies with. Parents danced with their small children, husbands and wives came together, and even strangers asked to dance with each other. Realizing this was my cue to leave to find a hiding spot, I stood from my chair only to turn to face my mother.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded to know.

"Bathroom," I replied quickly, attempting to walk past her. She grabbed the back of my dress, stopping me in my tracks.

"You're dancing."

"I don't know how."

"Everyone knows how to dance."

"Except me."

"Kyan."

"Mother."

She sighed, letting go of my clothing. "Its your sister's wedding. The least you can do is dance. Lord Kazekage will dance with you, won't you, Gaara?"

"I will?" he asked, glancing back at us with a mouth full of food. He hurried to swallow before admitting, "I don't dance either."

"Good, then you're perfect dancing partners." Mother leaned closer to my face. "If you don't get your ass out there and dance, I swear, Kyan—"

"Okay, okay, jeez!" I said, holding my hands up in defeat. The heat of embarrassment sat heavily on my face. "I'll go. Just…don't drag Lord Kazekage into this. I'll find my own partner."

Hesitantly, I forced myself into the crowd of people. More than anything, I _did not_ want to dance. I was an awkward dancer, even by myself. My body just didn't move gracefully.

After about three minutes of standing uncomfortably in the mass of dancers, I turned back around to retreat, only to stare into the daggers my mother was mentally sending my way from across the courtyard. Letting out a sigh of frustration, I turned my body just in time to be pushed into Gaara's chest.

"Oh, man," I muttered, covering my face. I knew full well that Gaara was not one for physical contact. "I'm sorry, Lord Kazekage. I'm not sure what happened."

"Quit with the formalities," he ordered, taking my hand in his.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly as he pressed his body closer to mine.

"Your mother is going to murder you if you don't find someone to dance with and you looked pathetic out here by yourself. You should thank me for saving your life," he murmured in my ear.

"But I don't know how to dance," I argued, staring down at our feet.

"And you think I do? If so, you're sadly mistaken."

"This is embarrassing, Gaara."

"It looks bad on my part if I don't dance as well."

Eventually, we fell into a rhythm of leaning side to side with each other. Not exactly dancing, but when we turned so I could see my mother, her expression told me it would pass as acceptable.

I'm not sure how long we repeated this. Before I knew it, my arms wrapped around his neck and his arms snaked around my waist, reminding me of the day nearly three years ago when Kankuro had sent Haketa and I back to Konoha for the last time.

"Don't think about it," Gaara whispered, his grip pulling me tighter.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"When you two left that day. Just don't let your mind wander to it. Focus."

Needing to know how he picked up on what I was thinking, I tilted my head upward to question him. But before I could, the flash of a camera erupted from somewhere in the surrounding crowd.

Only then did I realize we were the only ones still dancing.


	2. Let Me Help

**_Scroll One; Chapter Two:_**

**_Let Me Help_**

"You're absolutely sure you can take care of this while I'm gone?" Haketa asked for the tenth time as she packed her clothing. I sighed, pushing myself from the doorway of her apartment.

"Yes, jeez. Just go and enjoy having sex and getting drunk or whatever people do on honeymoons," I told her as I rolled my eyes. "Its only two weeks. I do this back home every single day."

My sister's worrying was beginning to get on my nerves. Not to mention it was an insult to my skill to have her stress over whether or not I could run a restaurant for two weeks while she was away with her husband. I had the help of Kasaji and the other employees I had helped hire years ago. Some had gone their own ways and were replaced with new faces, but I still had nothing at worry about.

"Maybe you'll run into Naruto while you're there," I joked, intentionally trying to get her mind away from the restaurant.

Haketa scoffed, standing with her bag tightly in her hand. "Yeah, right. I'm not even sure if he'll ever return to Konoha. He's been gone for so long."

()()()

Temari and I stood at the gates, waving to the couple as they became small little specks in the distance. Their silhouettes forced a small feeling of homesickness into my gut. I missed Konoha. I missed constantly being yelled at by Lady Hokage, who seemed to have no patience for my lack of medical skills. I missed being stressed out with my mother at the original restaurant.

Even though I had only been in Sunagakure for a week for the wedding and tending to the restaurant while Haketa was gone, I missed all my friends back home. It was nice seeing Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro again after a year, but I was eager for the next two weeks to be over.

"I wonder why there were so many people at the wedding," I thought out loud as Temari and I walked through the calm streets. "It was almost as many as when Gaara became Kazekage."

"You know, I was just thinking about that." I turned my head to her, only to see her staring at me intently. "I found something the other day. I didn't want to ask you about it in front of Gaara, but this is your handwriting, isn't it?"

After digging in her pocket, she held out a crumpled piece of paper. My heart plummeted into my stomach as I tried to snatch it from her hands. Unfortunately, she was taller than me, so a simple extend of her arm put it well out of my reach.

"Hey, hey! I didn't read it!" she defended, giving me a soft push away from her. "Since when did you two start sending letters back and forth?"

My face felt as if it were on fire. "None of your business! What, did you steal it from his room or something?"

"Hardly. I don't go in there," she replied, slipping it into my raised hand. "I found it on the floor in the kitchen. Must've fallen out of his clothes or something."

"Jeez, man," I mumbled, crumpling it into my pocket. "So much for privacy."

She let out a quick huff, placing her hands on her hips. "Look, I know the last thing you want to hear is nagging right now, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to get involved with Gaara. He's still not—"

"But I'm not!"

Temari placed her hand securely over my mouth. "Let me finish. Gaara still isn't stable. You know that. He still has a hard time controlling himself at times. I was talking to Haketa and Kankuro about it before they left and we've all decided that maybe you two shouldn't train together anymore."

Slapping her hand away, I took a step back. "You know, Temari, I appreciate the concern. I really do, but just because the three of you decide something for me doesn't mean I'm going to listen. Ever since the whole Gaara-Naruto incident at the Chuunin Exams, he's changed, in case you haven't noticed. He isn't like that anymore."

She gave a defeated sigh, shaking her head slowly. "Must I remind you what happened last time?"

()()()

"_G-Gaara?" _

_I knocked on his bedroom door again, pressing my ear to the wood. Another pained shout. Another surge of panic through my body. _

"_GAARA! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" I screamed, leaning back and delivering the bottom of my foot into the door. The hinge snapped off, hitting the wall behind me._

_I ran into the dark room, cluttered by piles of sand and papers. This wasn't normal. Gaara's room was always kept neat. _

_As I advanced toward his bed, I mentally wished Temari, Kankuro, and Haketa were home. Instead, they were out having dinner to celebrate Gaara's new position as Kazekage. Strangely enough, they were missing the most important person of the night, who could easily fake a stomach ache to get out of trips to public places. Of course, I had volunteered to stay behind to make sure he was okay._

"_Get out," Gaara growled from his bed. I squinted hard, making out his curled figure. "KYAN, GET THE HELL OUT!"_

"_What is going on with you?!" I demanded to know as he grabbed both sides of his head. The last time I had seen him this way was nearly two years before. _

_Soft groans came from his mouth until finally, his breathing returned to normal. "Please, Kyan," he pleaded, "just go."_

_I lifted a shaking hand. "Gaara, let me help, please," I whispered. Without putting any thought into it, I placed my palm onto his back. _

_Before I could realize what was going on, a stream of sand curled around my neck and slammed me hard against the wall. A ball of sand collided roughly with the side of my head. My vision blurred. I could hardly make out Gaara's figure push off the bed and walk toward me. _

"_Gaara, please," I managed to croak out, "stop. Please. Its me."_

_His eyes, from what I could see, seemed to look straight through me. He was losing control again. _

_As his sand held me in place, he stood close to me, examining the way my face was changing into a deep purple color and listening to how my breathing was slowly ending. My hands were going numb, so while I still had some feeling left in them, I reached to touch his soft hair, trailing my fingertips down to his cheek._

"_Gaara."_

_A breath of air entered my lungs as my butt slammed onto the carpet. I coughed, leaning over into my knees. Damn, that sand had a grip. _

"_I'm sorry," Gaara whispered, taking many steps away from me, holding his head in his hands. "I'm so sorry, Kyan."_

_Before I could think of anything to say to him, I lifted myself to my feet and pulled the broken door to a close behind me._

()()()

"He didn't do it on purpose," I defended as we finally arrived to the closed restaurant. It would be opening again the next day and I would be put to work, wasting valuable two weeks of my life.

"That's what I'm saying," Temari replied, wiping off the sand from a small bench in front of the building before taking a seat. "You know, we almost sent you back to Konoha that night when we found out what happened. Haketa talked us out of it, though. She wanted to spend more time with you."

I took the spot next to her, stretching my arms toward my toes. "Is that why I didn't see Gaara at all after that? He didn't even come see me off when I left."

"It was his idea." With a soft yawn, she raised her arms over her head. "He took it upon himself to basically live in his office for the last two days that you were here. He said he couldn't risk it again."

I buried my face into my hands, groaning loudly. "I just…ugh."

"What?"

"I wish I could help."

"Don't we all?"

()()()

After Temari gave her goodbye, I decided to spend a little more time in front of restaurant. It felt as if the note was burning a hole in my pocket. Eventually it became so hot that I had to take it out and read it.

"Oh, man," I whispered, looking over my handwriting. It was the very first letter I'd ever sent to Gaara, shortly after I returned to Konoha about a year ago. "So cheesy. Why did he even keep this thing?"

"Dear Mr. Kazekage," it read, "how's the paperwork? Have you had to take care of arrest matters yet? How's that new secretary working out for you? I thought she was a little annoying, but hey, you must've found something special in her to hire her. I miss Suna and applying lotion a thousand times a day. Hey, do you think next time I visit, you could let me snoop around your office? I bet the Kazekage's space is entirely different than Lady Tsunade's. And also, I know you're stressed out about this crap, but don't be. You know what you're doing and I have nothing but the utmost faith in you. Nobody else could do this whole Kazekage thing better than you. You were made for this. Please write back soon, if you aren't busy. I miss you already. Love, Kyan."

Within two days, I had Gaara's reply from Takamaru, Sunagakure's delivery hawk that was only supposed to be used for official Kage-to-Kage business. I'm sure you could imagine my surprise when the bird rapped hard on my window one early morning.

Holding the letter in my hand, I leaned against the back of the bench. Since then, letters came back and forth between our villages. It was the only way I could keep in contact with Gaara, who quickly became a better friend to me than anyone else ever had.

"Okay, time to return this junk," I told myself, heading toward the Kazekage's office.

()()()

"You look busy," I commented as I opened the large doors. Gaara sat back in his chair, staring out the window behind him. His Kazekage hat dangled from the edge of the chair.

"Extremely," he replied softly.

I gazed over his desk as I strolled around it. Clutter, clutter, and more clutter. It seemed as if he had taken an unplanned break from his work.

"So, uh, I found this in the uh, kitchen," I lied, holding out the letter to him. "Why did you keep this crap?"

His chair turned quickly and before I knew it, the paper was shoved into his pocket. "It isn't crap. You didn't keep any of mine?"

"_You got me,"_ I thought. I scratched the side of my cheek slowly, glancing out the window to see what he was staring at.

"I did. I kept all of them."

Gaara ran a hand over his exhausted face and began to sift through the piles of paperwork on his desk. "I should probably get back to this if I want to leave tonight," he muttered, looking underneath books and pamphlets. A pen clanked to the floor and I hurried to pick it up for him.

"Do you need some help?" I offered, rolling the pen into his palm.

"No, thank you," he replied, resting his chin in an upturned hand. His elbow crumpled a ball of paper as he propped it up on the desktop.

I grabbed a small wooden chair and dragged it to the side of his much larger one. For a few minutes, I simply watched him read papers and write his initials on them. Eventually, I began to sort the papers that had his writing on them away from those that didn't. He began to move faster, without having to search around for unattended letters.

"You don't have to do this by yourself, you know," I mumbled, placing finished documents into my lap to avoid any more clutter.

"I know. That's why I've hired a secretary."

"Oh, you mean that annoying girl who chews on her gum like she doesn't have teeth," I grumbled, giving him a stare of disbelief. "Yeah, she's fantastic and she's already gone home."

"Its not that late, is it?" he asked quickly, glancing at the clock. Giving a scoff, he returned to his papers, whispering something about how he couldn't believe how late it had gotten and he swore it was noon five minutes ago.

I leaned back in the chair and raised my hand toward his back. It began to involuntarily quiver until I made a fist.

"_He's okay right now. Just…touch him. It'll be okay,"_ I mentally told myself. _"Screw what those three think."_

Gaara's body instantly tensed up when my palm rested on his shoulder. As it relaxed again, his head turned to face me, his gaze boring into mine. I gave him a soft smile and in return, he tilted his head onto my knuckles.


	3. Jealousy and Anger

**_Scroll One; Chapter Three:_**

**_Jealousy and Anger_**

The blaring beeping noise from my alarm startled me to the point of punching it into the wall. I wasn't used to alarms back home. Waking up early wasn't part of my work day. Noon was still early to me.

But six in the morning? Kill me.

I sat up, examining my surroundings. I was in the guest room in the Kazekage mansion, which was basically my own room. Nobody else slept here. I did whenever I visited Sunagakure, so I figured why not add my own personal touch to it?

I had decorated the walls with pictures of my parents, my grandparents, and as of late, a cheesy wedding picture of Kankuro and Haketa. A solitary framed picture sat sturdily on my nightstand. It was taken during my last birthday, only a few weeks before Gaara was given the title of Kazekage.

The picture had captured Gaara and I forever with cake frosting in his hair and on my face. Apparently, he had thought it would've been amusing to gently push my face into the cake as I was blowing out the candles. Although I was obviously laughing in the picture, Gaara sported a simple pleased smirk.

A quick rap at my bedroom door snapped me from my daydreaming.

"You're going to be late," Gaara mumbled through the door.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So are you," I replied, placing my bare feet onto the carpet below. He didn't reply, but the sound of a closing door told me that he knew I was right and decided to leave immediately.

Even though I hated early mornings, the shower made it worth it. Scalding hot water was just the thing I needed to wake me up. Unfortunately, I had a habit of spacing out in the shower.

()()()

"_Before you begin combat training, you must first choose a weapon that suits you both physically and mentally," Temari announced to the cluster of kids in front of her. They all seemed around my age, but were obviously very inexperienced in the Shinobi Arts. _

_I sat against a building, watching in with utmost boredom as a brunette girl in the middle of the group raised her hand. After Temari addressed her, she shyly asked, "I'm sorry, but is it absolutely necessary that we all choose a weapon?"_

_The question brought confusion to Temari and Kankuro, who proceeded to respond, "Why do you ask?"_

"_If all of us have weapons, there's a chance we'll hurt each other."_

_Gaara, who had been staring off as if something else were on his mind, suddenly raised his head and spoke up. "Your weapon is like…" Before he could finish his sentence, his voice trailed off. A pained expression popped onto his face and part of me knew what he was thinking about. "Never mind."_

_I glanced toward Temari. She made brief eye-contact with me before saying, "This isn't a game you're playing here."_

"_If you were to go into battle with that frame of mind, you wouldn't survive five seconds," Kankuro told the girl. "Fortunately, we have a Medical Shinobi from Konohagakure here in case anyone does get harmed. Don't count on having one here when you're actually in battle, though."_

_Twenty or so pairs of eyes settled one. I hurried to stand from my sitting position and gave a quick wave to them. "I'm still t-training," I informed them, waiting for the giggles for my stutter, "so try not to h-hurt anyone too bad-badly."_

"_For this exercise," Kankuro continued, thankfully pulling all the attention onto himself, "you'll be working in a group with the instructor of your choosing."_

_Concerned whispers rose up from the group as they talked amongst themselves of who to choose. All three of them had their pros and cons of being an instructor. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to realize the pros of Gaara as they split off toward Temari and Kankuro. _

"_Gaara," I whispered, watching as he stood alone. More than anything, I wanted to stand next to him, but I wasn't there to train. _

_The girl who had asked the irritating question approached him slowly, as if he were a wild animal stuck inside a flimsy cage. "Ex-excuse me, will you be my sensei?" _

"_Are you sure you want that?" he questioned._

_She seemed baffled as to why he asked. What she didn't know was that Gaara still had a hard time focusing on his emotions, keeping them in check so nothing within him would go wild again. It had only been about a year since the Chuunin Exams, since Naruto changed him, but it was still difficult sometimes. How couldn't it be when he had a voice in his head constantly demanding him to maim, destroy, and kill? _

_Gaara was a ticking time bomb and this girl had no idea._

"_Please, teach me!" she begged._

"_So be it."_

_The trainees split off to grab at the various weapons lying on the wooden tables in front of them. Some knew what to take right away while others remained totally clueless. _

_I focused on Gaara and the girl. She was among the cluster who had no idea what to use. He watched her carefully, probably making mental notes on her stance, the way her eyes nervously flicked side to side, or how she would rub her elbow more times than deemed normal. _

"_What's your name?" he finally asked her._

"_Matsuri." _

()()()

I growled to myself, finally turning off the water. Matsuri. A name I grew to greatly dislike.

Ever since that day, she always seemed to be hanging around. I knew why. The way she watched Gaara when he walked down the streets of his village, the way she called his name and waved to him while hanging out her bedroom window, the red tint that would add color to her face whenever he spoke to her. It made me sick. And angry. And…not jealous. Definitely not jealous.

I wish she never had broken out of her shell. Staying that shy, quiet girl who was too nervous to approach Gaara outside of training was perfectly fine with me.

I left the mansion in a hurry. I was late. Of course. As long as Gaara wouldn't find out so I wouldn't have to hear, "I told you."

Luckily, Ryuuin, one of our first hires (and our most faithful one) had already opened the restaurant and taken things into his own hands. By the time I arrived, people were already seated, served, and waiting on their bills. Kasaji jogged up from behind me and gave me a light shove.

"Slept in, princess?" he asked playfully. "Looks like you'll be needing a little more beauty sleep later today." With a loud (and extremely annoying) laugh, he walked away to wait on his own tables.

"God, you are hilarious," I muttered sarcastically, pulling my hair up into a tight bun.

And from there, the day flew on. People came and went as they always did. I learned very quickly that the villagers here weren't as pleasant to serve as the ones in Konohagakure. They were rude, impatient, and had a habit of touching my butt when I passed their tables.

Now I understood why Haketa questioned my ability to handle this.

As I gave my attention to a table who had taken part in the butt grabbing, I noticed a small floating bundle of sand near the roof of the building. Thinking it was just my stressed out, pissed off mind playing tricks on me, I decided to ignore it until I was entirely sure it formed into an eyeball.

"_Gaara…"_

"Thank you very much, and please do come again," I told the table, giving them the sweetest, fakest smile I could muster.

"Keep wearing shorts like that and I'll come back every day, baby girl," one of the older, much drunker, men replied.

"Oh, you're so sweet," I responded. I turned my back and began to walk away, muttering under my breath, "Fucking asshole."

I hurried to the back of the kitchen, placing a custom order for okonomiyaki and korokke. After a few moments, Ryuuin's head poked around the corner from the kitchen to ask, "Delivery for Lord Kazekage? Did he actually call in this time?"

"Does he ever?" I replied, grabbing my delivery order and setting foot out the crowded building.

()()()

"_What a l-lost cause," I mumbled, watching the girl, Matsuri, fumble around with a rope javelin as Gaara and I stood against the building. He brought his arms up from his sides to cross them over in front of his chest._

"_You should know as well as I do that there are no such things as lost causes," he replied harshly, referencing to my stutter. Sure, it was getting better, but it would take me five, ten years to be fully able to speak correctly again._

_Pushing himself from the wall, Gaara returned to Matsuri's side. They fell into a conversation just as a boy approached me, his arm severely bleeding. I sighed and, focusing intently, pulled my Chakra into my hand, placing it over his skin. Within seconds, the bleeding stopped and he returned to Kankuro's group, which seemed to be missing it's instructor. _

"_Gaara!" Temari's frantic voice called from the main street. Telling Matsuri to continue training with her weapon, he followed his sister's voice with me trailing right behind him._

_We came onto another sand Shinobi lying in Kankuro's arms. Wounds covered his body, forcing blood from them. Hurriedly, I knelt at his side, treating him as best I could. However, some of the wounds were too deep to completely heal. Instead, they turned into green scabs._

"_One of the Shinobi patrols was attacked," Temari explained._

"_They had strange weapons," the man struggled to say. "They called themselves the Four Celestials. They said to tell Gaara…tell him they know he's the ultimate weapon and they issue him a challenge. If you don't accept it, they said they'll take someone close to you. They'll keep taking one person a day until everyone you care about is gone."_

_The words seemed to hit Gaara hard. I was suddenly hoisted back onto my feet by his sand. "Kyan," he told me, "I want you to go to the Kazekage office and tell every Shinobi personnel I said to guard you with their lives. Do you understand?"_

"_Wh-What?" I muttered. Before I could get an answer, I was pushed toward the center of the village. _

()()()

"You know, there is such a thing as a phone, Lord Kazekage," I informed him, pointing to the plastic device on his desk. I'm sure the thing had been collecting dust. "That whole eye thing is a little creepy, if you ask me."

"Good thing I didn't ask you then," Gaara replied, sifting through the bag I'd placed on his desk. He pulled the box containing the okonomiyaki and placed it to the side, then handed the korokke to me. Hurriedly, I sat in one of the chairs opposite of his and immediately began stuffing my face.

"Well, thanks anyway, I guess. I'm not sure if I could handle another ass grab," I supposed, receiving a very hard stare from the man whose mouth was also full.

"Who?" he demanded to know after swallowing. I shrugged, knowing I should've just kept my mouth shut.

"Oh, I don't know. Some guy. He probably doesn't remember anyway."

"I will not allow you to tolerate that kind of disrespect from my villagers, Kyan."

"Really, its okay. I mean, stuff like that happens. It could've been a lot worse…" Now I really should've kept my mouth shut.

Since the day I confided my rape in Gaara, it had been a touchy subject for the both of us. Even indirectly talking about it was out of the question. In his eyes, it was ranked up there with murder of a child, which brought back just as equally horrific memories for him.

"I think you should leave," Gaara muttered, pushing the box toward me. He had only taken a few bites. "You can have the rest."

"But I—"

"Lord Gaara!" a shrieking voice echoed from outside the room. Giving an annoyed sigh, Gaara closed his eyes and instructed her to come in.

"Matsuri," he greeted. Uncomfortable tension filled the air. Matsuri's smiling face instantly faded as her eyes settled on me. A plastic bag was held securely in her hand, which was now a tight fist.

"I, um, brought you some lunch. Figured you'd be hungry," she told him, lifting the bag.

"Thank you. I appreciate the act, but I've just finished eating. Kyan, I think you should be getting back to the restaurant."

I stood from my chair, tossing my own box into a small trash can at the corner of his desk. "Right. See you _at home_, Gaara," I told him, staring Matsuri down as I walked past her.

I would do anything to piss her off, just as she would do to me. The best part is, is that I didn't even feel bad about it.

()()()

"_You really th-think I-I'm just gonna s-sit back and wait for you g-guys to come back, huh?" I whispered to myself, jumping as quickly as I could from tree to tree. They had taken Matsuri and the siblings were hot on their trails. Even then Konohagakure Shinobi were involved. _

_I passed large areas of ruined forest. Trees cut every which way, puppet parts lying about, random puddles everywhere. A pained scream sounded from somewhere far ahead of me and as I slowed down to listen, I realized it was Gaara._

"_GAARA!" I shrieked, picking up my pace once again. My heartbeat was heavy in my ears. What were they doing to him? What was going on? Where was everyone?_

_Finally, after what seemed like hours, I came to the end of a small canyon. A familiar group, consisting of Temari, Kankuro, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, Kiba, Neji, Choji, Hinata, and Sakura stood around, watching the sight before them. I pushed them out of the way to get to the front, only to cover my mouth to silence my scream. _

_Gaara, half-transformed into the beast that nearly killed Naruto a year ago, crouched in front of a strange-looking, floating man. The part of him that was still human was bloodied, scratched, and covered in bruises. _

_Both Sakura and Hinata rushed to Naruto and Matsuri, who were cast off to the side, just as beaten as Gaara. I felt as if I couldn't move. It was hard to remember the last time I was so afraid for someone else. _

"_They've absorbed all of Gaara's Chakra," Matsuri explained to Sakura. "That floating one there," she lifted a finger to point to Gaara's opponent, "called himself Seimei and said he's the founder of the Village of Artisans."_

"_They're after Shukaku's power!" Naruto informed us. _

"_No," I whispered, bringing my trembling hands to my mouth. "They can't…It'll…"_

_Gaara groaned in pain once more, closing his eyes tightly. The Shukaku arm that had overtaken his slowly broke away into sand, falling to the ground, as did the half demon face settling upon his own. _

"_I'm hardly sensing any Chakra from Gaara," Neji commented behind me. "This isn't good."_

_Taking a deep breath, Gaara slapped his palms together, yelling, "Sand Tsunami!" _

_Gigantic rocks began to fall from the canyon around us, crashing to the ground loudly. I covered my ears in hopes to quiet them. An arm wrapped tightly around my waist, hoisting me up as the body behind me jumped to the top of a high rock. Kankuro had grabbed me just in time to save me from the sea of dense sand that had exploded from the falling boulders, seemingly drowning Seimei. _

_Instead of staying buried, a whirlwind shot up from underneath, bringing up his floating body. With an amused laugh, Seimei pointed toward Gaara's body and a sapphire light came from him. _

"_He's sucking the rest of Gaara's Chakra!" Neji exclaimed. "At this rate, he'll—"_

"_GAARA!" I screamed, attempting to scramble down the rocks we stood on. However, both Kiba and Neji caught me in a stronghold. "LET ME GO! PLEASE! I CAN'T JUST LET HIM DO THIS! PLEASE! I CAN'T LOSE GAARA, TOO!"_

"_Gaara is stronger than you know, Kyan," Temari said, getting a firm grip on the back of my shirt. _

_Gaara lifted a hand, forming a trident of sand. With a swift motion, he drew his arm back and released it, piercing Seimei right through the chest. As the body dropped to the ground, Gaara placed his palms onto the sand, hardening it as rigidly as he could. Everything fell silent._

"_He did it," Naruto whispered in disbelief. "HE DID IT!" _

_I yanked myself from Temari's grasp to join Naruto in running toward Gaara. But just as he turned to face us, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his body collapsing into the sand. My breath caught heavy in my throat._

"_GAARA!" _

_Our group surrounded him. Sakura pressed her fingers to his neck, smiling to herself. "He's alive. Just out of Chakr—Kyan, why are you crying?"_

_I covered my eyes, trying to hide my tears from the group. Kneeling next to Gaara, I placed my hand against his cheek and as I began to wipe my face, a sort of hysterical laugh came from my mouth. _

"_I j-just thought for a m-moment, I'd have t-to say my go-goodbyes to another m-man I lo…," I stuttered, stopping myself short. "…looked up to."_

()()()

"You make her feel uncomfortable," Gaara informed me, walking through the front door. I lifted my head from a book and gave him an off stare from the safety of the couch.

"Welcome home, Gaara, and yes, my day was fantastic, thank you for asking," I replied, turning back to my studies. Honestly, I didn't care that I made Matsuri feel that way. She had said some pretty awful things to me before, as well.

"You should apologize," he said simply. I noticed his pace pick up as he headed for his room. Smart.

"WHAT?!" I exploded, launching my book across the room. Thankfully, it was blocked by a layer of sand before it could go crashing through a window. "Why should I apologize, Gaara?! You should be pissed at her for being a creepy stalker! Why don't you tell _her_ to apologize to _me_?!" Before I could blink, Gaara was in front of me. I tilted my head back slightly to look him in the eyes.

"If you ever yell at me again, I will have your ass deported back to Konoha in ten seconds flat. If you cannot control your jealousy and your anger, you have no right running a restaurant in my village. Do you understand me, Kyan?"

As if my body had a mind of its own, I pushed him from me, which honestly didn't do any good considering the sand moved faster than I did. "Yes, Lord Kazekage," I spat hatefully as I headed for my room. "Anything you say, Lord Kazekage."


	4. I'm Staying

_**Scroll One; Chapter Four:**_

_**I'm Staying**_

"Kyan, maybe you should take a day off? I mean, its very obvious that you're stressed out and today is your eighth day in a row that you've wor—"

"No."

"But you're going to make yourself sick! One day off won't kill you. It'll actually do the opposite."

I sighed, finally turning to face Ryuuin. His constant nagging was beginning to give me a headache. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes tightly. "Look," I said quietly, as not to let any of the customers behind me hear, "I don't want my sister to think I can't handle this while she's gone. I only have another week or so until she gets back. I'm fine."

In all actuality, that was a lie. I definitely was not okay. I was stressed out, tired, and quite sick to my stomach. Gaara hadn't said a word to me since our argument, but then again, he kept himself held up in his office most nights. I rarely saw him and when I did, a horrible awkward tension settled itself between us.

It wasn't as if he was ignoring me. When we pass each other, he would give me a quick nod of acknowledgement. That was all, though. There as no, "Evening, Kyan. How was your day?" or "Something smells good and burnt. What did you cook?" Just silence.

I missed him, but my pride always got in the way.

"And I don't want your sister to think I can't look after you while she's gone," Ryuuin argued. "You're taking the day off tomorrow. Now, give me your keys and go home early. I'll close tonight."

I let out a loud, sarcastic guffaw. A few customers turned their heads to see where it had come from, but once they figured it out, they quickly returned to their food.

"Please don't take offense to this, but screw off," I said blatantly. "This is my sister's restaurant and while she's away, I'm in charge. You can't tell me when I'm going to leave, okay?"

A soft smile grew on Ryuuin's wrinkled face. Leaning over to match my height, he grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me in close, growling, "I'm going to tell you what I tell my daughters: either you listen to what I say, or I will lovingly beat the crap out of you until you do." The smile never faded, which quickly made it creepier than it actually was.

I rolled my eyes, slapping his hand from my clothes. "Back up, man," I told him. "Here. I don't want the reputation of beating up some old guy." I reached into my pocket, fumbling around for my set of keys to the restaurant. Without hesitation, his hand curled into a fist when I placed them in his palm.

"Enjoy your day off," he happily told me with a smile, gently pushing me to the door.

Once I obtained freedom, I realized that I was stuck in a village with no friends and the only person I ever spent my time with was held up in his office and wouldn't ditch his work even if he were on fire. Sunagakure wasn't like Konohagakure. There was no river to swim in, no bright green patch of grass to nap in, and hardly any protection from the blazing heat.

"Okay," I whispered, beginning my aimless wandering.

As I passed by gigantic sand buildings and screaming children erupting with laughter, a small jewelry stand caught my eye. Instead of the typical wooden and stone beads that made up necklaces and bracelets, I stared down at actual diamonds. They could have been imitation though. This kind of jewelry had to have been imported from another village.

"You like?" a man asked from behind the stand. At first I didn't see him. He sat low with a book in his hand.

"Uh, yeah," I replied. "So, what? Do you make this stuff at home?"

"Yeah, right next to my meth lab," he joked, standing to face me. He was a good two feet taller than me, which wasn't saying very much. I never was very tall. Long russet hair framed his face, giving accent to his soft emerald eyes. "I don't make it. I just sell it. By the way, aren't you Lord Kazekage's girlfriend? Or is that the other one that looks like you?"

Within seconds, my face was on fire. "Definitely not me," I relied quickly, picking up a necklace that I pretended to have interest in buying. "My sister is married to his brother. They're off on their honeymoon right now, probably drunk off their asses or dead."

"One of those sounds a bit better, don't you think? Anyway, see anything you like?"

"Not really," I lied. I liked everything. "I'm not one for flashy stuff. Well, I should probably go. Have a good day."

"Yeah, you too."

I spent the rest of the day exploring parts of the village I'd never been to, such as a tall mountain that overlooked the entire community. I sat there for hours, lost in my own scattered thoughts. Wind whipped at my hair until I pulled it back, wrapping it into a bun.

My fingers dipped into the soft sand I sat on, picking it up and allowing it to fall back onto the ground. My gaze settled on the setting sun. From over the walls of the village, it seemed as if a fire was slowly crawling it's way over.

My mind naturally focused on Gaara. I knew he had a habit of spacing out and staring out the small windows behind his chair. I wondered if he was looking at the same sunset.

()()()

"_Your hair looks terrible."_

_I stopped in the doorway, hand resting on the knob. Kankuro covered his eyes with his right hand, sighing in disappointment. Temari's eyes looked as if they were going to pop from her head. Haketa stopped chewing her food to shift her gaze between Gaara and I._

"_My hair looks…what?" I whispered, turning slowly to face the redhead behind me. He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest._

"_Terrible," he repeated. "It looks like crap."_

_Anger filled me instantly as I advanced toward him. "Excuse me?! You never even fucking touch your hair! You have no room to talk! Do you realize how long I spent on this?! Do you realize what its like to actually want to look good for people?! Do you realize HOW FUCKING HARD IT IS TO HAVE LONG HAIR?!" _

_I was suddenly inches from his face, my hands balled into fists. I knew punching him would be a waste of energy. I would just end up attacking a wall of sand._

"_Gaara," Temari mumbled, shaking her head slowly. Gaara looked at her in somewhat of a panic, then back to me, bewildered. Slowly, he raised his hands, palms facing me._

"_It was…a joke?" he whispered._

"_ASSHOLE!" I screeched, slamming my fists into his palms. As hard as I tried to push him back, he returned with the same amount of force. _

"_C'mon, Kyan," Haketa defended, swallowing a bite of her food, "at least he's making an attempt at learning to joke around with you."_

"_That was rude!" I yelled, pushing myself from him. "That's not even a good joke. You know what's a good joke? Knock, knock."_

_Silence came and went quickly before Kankuro asked, "Who's there?"_

_I pointed a finger to Gaara. "GAARA'S GIANT FUCKING FOREHEAD AND HIS STUPID FUCKING TATTOO AND HIS CRAZY APPETIETE! WHY DON'T YOU GAIN WEIGHT, GAARA?! WHY ARE YOU STILL SO SKINNY?! AND YOUR HAIR LOOKS LIKE CRAP!"_

_Gaara sighed in frustration. "I thought you of all people would be able to joke around."_

"_You weren't joking. You were being mean. I worked hard on it," I told him between heavy breaths. Embarrassingly, tears brimmed my eyes._

"_I apologize, then. It looks good. Really, it does."_

()()()

I chuckled softly, bringing my knees up to my chest. Since Haketa's return to Suna, Gaara had begun to try catching onto sarcasm and using it himself. It seemed like an impossible concept to grasp for him and seeing as sarcasm was my middle name, it made for awkward interactions between us for the first year or so of my frequent visits to Suna.

Thinking on it, that was truly the only thing that seemed unnatural for Gaara and me. Other than our little spat, that is. My sister was right; he tried extremely hard to understand my sarcasm and jokes. Using them himself, however, was difficult.

"_He's getting better, though. He's trying,"_ I thought to myself, a cold shiver forcing itself up my spine. Standing from the ground, I stretched my arms high over my head.

As I tumbled down the hill, streetlights flickered on and children scrambled into their houses for the night. It made me homesick. Sunagakure was definitely a little more regulated than back home. In Konoha, kids would stay out until the late hours of the night to play. That didn't happen here. It wasn't a village rule. Just a parental preference.

"There you are," a voice called from behind me. It was vaguely unfamiliar, so naturally I thought they were speaking to someone else. When I turned to face them, I realized he was addressing me.

"Oh, you're the guy from the jewelry stand," I replied, giving a friendly smile. "You were looking for me?"

"Yeah, we were."

"We?"

As if on cue, two more figures appeared from a poof of black smoke. They all seemed around the same age, mid-twenties, and wore the same stalking smirk on their faces. However, instead of being dressed somewhat decently, these two wore what seemed like rags, ripped and torn in haphazard spots.

"You two hold her down," the stall vendor instructed.

"_No, not again! Not again!"_ I mentally repeated as I turned on my heel and took off sprinting toward the mansion. I could see it clearly in view.

I didn't even have time to scream before my hair was yanked from the bun and used to hold me to the ground. My wrists were pinned down on both sides of my face. A disgusting, dirty piece of fabric was shoved into my mouth to muffle my screams. Tears filled and spilled over my eyes.

"_Not again…Not again…Not again…"_

One of the newer men grabbed my face hard as I felt my shorts being ripped from my legs. As much as I wanted to kick and punch and try to fight, I couldn't. Something inside me froze up, because I knew that no matter how hard I pleaded and tried to save myself, it would only make it worse in the end.

"_Father…please…Someone."_

My breasts were grabbed painfully and lips were on my neck, biting and sucking. My throat burned with surprised sobs.

A heavy body slumped on top of me and I waited for the pain between my legs. Instead, I heard screams and cursing. A crash. Silence. My wrists were free. My mouth was free. The body was lifted from mine.

"Kyan? Oh, shit. Kyan, please say something."

My back was lifted from the ground as Kasaji's face came into view. My lips framed his name, but no sound came from them.

"_No, please not again…"_

He picked me up from the ground and as I was turned toward the direction of the mansion, I saw bloodstained sand, bloodstained walls, and bloodstained body parts scattered about the street. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't find my voice.

()()()

"Kyan, Kyan, please look at me," Temari whispered, kneeling in front of me.

I felt as if I couldn't focus on anything, so bringing my gaze to her eyes was extremely difficult. My body shook uncontrollably, to the point of muscle aches. She took my freezing hands in hers, using a free hand to circle a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Do you need to go to the hospital, Kyan? Did they…?"

"N-No," I managed to squeak out. "It was cl-close."

She sighed heavily in relief and gently pressed my head into her shoulder protectively. "I'm so sorry, Kyan," she mumbled against my hair. "I'm so fucking sorry I wasn't there."

"I just called Gaara's office," Kasaji said from the doorway. "What's-her-boob is going to let him know. Can I get you two anything?"

"Can you make some tea, please?" Temari asked, helping me stand. "I'm going to get Kyan cleaned up."

She led me to her bathroom and rummaged around for a clean towel. I tried to strip my bloodied and dirty clothes from my body, but something stopped me.

"I c-can't," I whispered, allowing more tears to fall from my eyes.

"Its okay. I'll get in with you, okay? Its okay."

In a hurry, Temari ridded herself of her clothes and took her hair from its bindings. With extremely careful hands, she lifted my shirt from my shoulders, making a horrified face at a bruise that had formed along my ribs. Another below my left butt cheek. One above my right breast. Two more around my each of my wrists, perfectly forming human fingers. My neck, I finally realized as we stepped into the warm water, sported horrendous hickeys and purple bite marks.

As Temari ran her soapy fingers through my hair, I finally felt as if I could breathe again. She covered my eyes and tilted my head toward the water, rinsing it for a minute or two.

"_It didn't happen,"_ I thought. _"It didn't. Its okay. You're okay. I'm okay."_

"Please don't t-tell my sister," I begged as she wrapped a towel tightly around my body, doing her best to shield the marks. They still poked out.

"Are you kidding me? She needs to know," Temari defended, wrapping her own towel around her hair.

"I don't want to ruin her h-honeymoon. Nothing happened, okay? I was attacked by s-some drunken guys and managed to fight them off."

"Kyan, you were almost ra—"

As hard as I was trying to put on a strong façade, my quivering lip destroyed the image. "B-By the time she gets ba-back, the marks will mostly be g-gone. We'll just t-tell her I got into a sp-spat with someone. Please, th-this needs to stay between you, Kasaji, Gaara and m-me."

She stared me down, almost expecting me to change my mind, but eventually sighed and rubbed her eyes exhaustedly. "Okay, okay, fine. We won't tell her. But you know that Gaara is going to—"

Three quick knocks on the bathroom door cut her off. "Temari, is Kyan in there?!" Gaara demanded to know, rattling the locked doorknob.

"Yeah, she's in here. Give us a minute to get dressed," she replied, and then mouthed to me, "Crazy."

With trembling fingers, I slipped on the clothes Temari had brought in. I stared at my reflection as she dragged a brush through my hair. A black eye. Fantastic.

As I opened the bathroom door, Gaara instantly lifted himself from Temari's bed and took my face in his hands. His frantic eyes flicked from my eye to my neck and down to my wrists, which he held gently in his palms for a few moments.

"Who was it?" he growled, staring at the bruises.

"I-I don't know," I replied. "One of them was selling jewelry in the east side of the village. I di-didn't recognize the other two."

Swiftly but with care, Gaara pulled me into him, my head resting against his chest. His heartbeat seemed frenzied and his breathing sounded irregular. Taking this as a sign to leave, Temari silently slipped from the room.

"I'm sorry, Kyan," he whispered, his lips pressed against my hair.

"Why is everyone apologizing to me for this? It wasn't anyone f—"

"I'm just sorry, Kyan. Take it for what it fucking is."

()()()

I ended up in Gaara's bed that night. Even though it was never used for actual sleeping, his pillows and blankets smelled exactly like him and if I lay in a certain spot, I could feel where he often stared at the ceiling for hours upon hours. The bed was definitely too big for only one person.

Wrapping my still shaking body up in the blankets, I rolled to my side, focusing on his figure sitting in the open windowsill. Gaara glared out at the village, his hands balled into fists atop his knees. His hair was still damp from his own shower. A soft gust of wind ruffled his clothes as it flew through.

I wasn't tired, but I felt exhausted. My body ached all over and my head pounded with a migraine. I couldn't tell if I was shivering because I was cold, or still in some sort of shock.

"Are you cold?" Gaara asked, his voice a strained whisper.

"I'm not sure," I replied.

He stood from the window, closing it quietly, and headed for the bedroom door. Panic swept through me.

"W-Wait, are you leaving?" I stammered, pulling the blankets closer to my face. I felt so pathetic, like a child afraid of the dark, but the thought of being alone terrified me to the point of tears.

Gaara stopped, his hand resting on the door, and after a few moments, he pushed it until it completely closed, replying, "No, I'm not." His body slipped under the blankets next to me and although he didn't lie against me, he sat against the headboard, his palm resting against my hair. "I'm staying."


	5. Unlovable

_**Scroll One; Chapter Five:**_

_**Unlovable**_

"Look, this really isn't necessary," I told them both nervously. Although this was one of the last things I wanted to do, I knew there was absolutely no way out of it. Gaara was deadest on going through with this, and I'd learned long ago that once he set his mind to something, there was no steering him away.

The young Kazekage and Kasaji stood a few feet from me, both dressed in casual, comfortable clothing just as I was told to wear. Kasaji had obviously just rolled from bed, like myself, and looked as if a train had run him over three or four times. He had all the right to keep such an unkempt appearance. Gaara didn't quite understand the fact that once you fell asleep, waking up at five in the morning was probably more miserable than childbirth. I, fortunately, trained my body to easily wake up before the sun appeared in the sky.

Gaara let out an annoyed sigh. "Obviously it is," he replied, taking my hand in his. He flipped my palm upwards and placed two kunai knives in it. "Put those away for later. I honestly can't believe they never taught you this in Konoha. Okay."

He shoved Kasaji's shoulder hard, causing the sleeping man to wake up in a terrified manner. Kasaji wiped the drool from his mouth and faced the redhead, who glanced at me as he held his left wrist out.

"You said one of them grabbed your wrist, right?" Gaara questioned as Kasaji wrapped his fingers around his pale skin.

"I, uh, I think so. Its hard to remember," I muttered, peeking around nervously at a few villagers who were just beginning their day. As they passed us, they kept a close eye on their leader, probably wondering why he was practically holding hands with some unknown man instead of being held up in his office.

"Once your wrist is grabbed, your attacker opens themselves up to many different attacks," Gaara informed me. "Here." He pivoted his body outward, causing Kasaji to unwillingly release him, then grab him again. "Here." Gaara pulled his wrist and Kasaji toward him, acting as if he was going to deliver his fist into Kasaji's mouth. "Or here." Once again, he pulled the boy closer to him, lifting a knee to his groin. As expected, Kasaji covered himself with his free hand, turning from Gaara. "If you hit a man there, it doesn't matter how strong they are. They will go down."

For the next two hours, I sat back and watched as the two performed different ways of defense against each other. At one point, Kasaji had created clones to attack Gaara all at once. Instead of freezing up like I had, he calmly and gracefully put all of them on the ground, his hands and kunai knives at their throats.

"Your turn," Gaara finally said, motioning me to his position. Awkwardly, I stood where he was while he retreated to the side, leaving four clones of himself behind. Kasaji pulled his hands together in a quick hand sign to transform into a man I'd never seen before.

Without warning, the clones began to run toward me. I expected my body to become rigid, but much to my surprise, I moved. I tried to copy Gaara's movements as best I could, but unlike him and Kasaji, his clones were moving at a much slower pace and without so much force. I was able to fight them off, but I didn't have much time to feel good about myself before the unknown man Kasaji turned himself into powerwalked toward me.

Something about the facial features he picked made my knees shake and when his voice boomed in my face, I had to try my hardest to force the urge to vomit down.

"You stupid fucking girl. I'm going to rape you and kill you. DON'T YOU GET IT, KYAN?! I'M GOING TO FUCKING RAPE YOU!"

He had picked the eyes and the voice of the jewelry salesman.

I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, and my vision was becoming fuzzy. "Not again," my lips involuntarily formed. "Not again."

Kasaji grabbed my wrist tightly and waited for me to move. His unwelcoming face gave obvious hints of confusion when I stared at his horrible eyes, tears spilling from mine.

"Kyan?" Gaara called. As much as I wanted to turn and run toward him, I couldn't.

Instead, my body did the opposite. I reared my knee back, swiftly delivering it right between Kasaji's legs. With a pained groan, he fell to the ground in a ball, returning to his normal face and voice. I felt as if I couldn't stop myself. Before I realized what was happening, I was delivering the tip of my kunai into his skin over and over again.

A heavy force collided with my body and my hands were pinned above my head by two strong hands. Only then did I realize what I had done. My gaze locked onto Kasaji's still and bleeding body. Just before my knees gave out, an ear-piercing scream escaped my mouth.

"_I killed him…I killed him…I killed him."_

"Kyan, its okay," Gaara said, trying to calm me down. He kneeled down with me and pulled my face into him. My tears instantly drenched his clothes.

"What a little beast," Kasaji's voice remarked. "I'm glad I didn't actually go into that. You okay, sugarbear?"

Panic surged through my body as I whipped around, looking up at his smiling, not dead face. There were no cuts on his body, or rips through his clothes. I glanced around him, looking at the spot where I thought I had killed him. A large boulder stood proudly in his place.

"_Substitution justu."_

"WHAT THE _FUCK?!_" I screeched, grabbing a handful of sand and chucking it in Kasaji's eyes. He let out a yelp and immediately started rubbing them with his hands, coughing out the grains that had flown into his mouth.

Although I was ecstatic that I hadn't actually killed him, I couldn't stop crying. My body shook uncontrollably, even when Gaara placed his palm on my shoulder.

"You guys…are jerks," I managed to say between hiccupping sobs.

"In Gaara's defense, I thought about it at the last minute," Kasaji said, giving a nervous chuckle. He continued to rub his left eye. "I'm glad I did, or I'd be a sterile piece of Swiss cheese by now."

"You took it too far," Gaara told him, lifting a hand. Kasaji blinked rapidly a few times, just to be sure all the sand was gone from his eye.

"Maybe I did, but real attackers on the street don't move as slow as your clones, Lord Kazekage. You were going too easy on her. I had to do something to scare her." Managing to stand on my feet, I walked past Kasaji, giving him a hard shove.

()()()

Heavy knocks on my bedroom door startled me awake. The small book I had been reading fell onto the floor. As I sat up, I wiped the trail of drool from the left side of my cheek, noticing the sky was beginning to turn the gorgeous auburn color I absolutely adored. It was my favorite time of the day when the sun was setting and I would be going to sleep soon.

"Coming," I muttered, quickly glancing at my appearance in the mirror. I looked about as horrible as I felt. Dreams had an awful way of screwing up the rest of your day.

"I came to see if you were okay," Temari said, leaning against the doorway. Her hair bounced against her shoulders in waves, and her makeup seemed to portray that she actually tried. "I heard what happened this morning."

I tried my hardest to smooth out my wild hair as I gave her a precarious grin. "Oh, yeah, totally. I'm fine. Great, actually. I was just, uh, reading." I motioned toward the book, opened in a painfully stressful way on the spine.

Her piercing eyes studied my attire, which was still covered in dirt, and my unruly hair. I'm sure I had bags under my eyes as well, which didn't help my case. "Well," she said disbelievingly, "I'm going out tonight, so it'll just be you and Gaara here. Do you need anything before I go?"

A sly smirk replaced my faulty smile. "Oh, I think we'll be just fine," I told her, giving her a soft wink. "So, who's the lucky guy?"

"Nobody you know, so don't even start with that whole Shikamaru crap, okay?" she replied, rolling her eyes. I followed her figure down the hallway. "Don't wait up!"

"I know where Kankuro keeps his extra condoms, so let me know if you need them!" I called after her, receiving a well-deserved middle finger.

I returned to my room, locking the door behind me. As hard as I tried to shake the heavy feeling of my dream from myself, it still sat on me like a ton of bricks.

I dreamt that I was chasing after my father, but no matter how loudly I called out to him, he never turned to look at me. When I finally did catch up to him, I pulled on the back of his robes. Only then did he acknowledge me, but it wasn't him. It was one of the men who held me down while their leader raped me. Instead of attacking me, however, a wave of bloodied sand surrounded the man, squeezing him until his body burst into a shower of organs, skin, and bones.

"D-Don't touch her," Gaara had whispered, suddenly appearing at my side. Before I could reach out to him, though, I was woken up by Temari.

I picked up my book from the floor, carelessly tossing it onto the bed. A deep rumble sounded from my stomach and as I ventured out into the kitchen, I realized every single light was off, which wasn't normal if Gaara was home. He had a habit of leaving the lights on when he left rooms.

As I rummaged through the cabinets for something to eat, a bottle of a drink I'd never seen before became apparent when I reached the very back. I grabbed the soucho, holding the neck of it tightly. It had been given to Gaara as a celebratory gift by a villager when he became Kazekage, but because he was underage and needed to keep an appearance unlike his father's, he decided to never touch the stuff.

"Why is this still here?" I whispered to myself, popping the top open and taking a quick sniff. The strong smell of alcohol entered my nostrils, but I didn't mind it too much. It reminded me vaguely of my grandfather.

Deciding that Gaara would never think to look for the bottle, I grabbed a clean glass and retreated back toward my room. As I passed Gaara's bedroom, I pressed my ear to his door, listening intently. Dead silence.

As I sat on my bed, glass in my hand, I took a deep breath. My father and grandfather would kill me if they knew what I was doing, but I felt I needed to experience it someday. It was inevitable, just like having sex and (god forbid) getting married. It was part of life. At least, that's what I told myself to keep the guilt away.

The second the soucho touched the back of my throat, I nearly spat it all up. It tasted horrible and as it slid down into my stomach, I shuddered.

"_Why in the world do people enjoy this crap?"_ I thought to myself, staring into the glass. _"Well, maybe it gets better if you drink more of it."_

And so I did. Before I knew it, my lips began to feel tingly and my fingertips felt numb. I wasn't sure if I was drunk, though. I was still able to think rational thoughts and form perfect sentences. Mind you, I was talking to myself, so I had no true witnesses.

"Shit," I whispered as a knock came at the door. I panicked, thinking it was Temari, and carefully placed the soucho underneath my bed. Maybe she had come home early? Maybe her date sucked? "She's gonna kick my ass."

I took a deep breath as I stood on my feet. I was walking perfectly fine, fortunately. And as I opened my door, a wave of relief flooded over me.

"Oh, its just you," I said to Gaara. Now that I think back on it, it was extremely rude of me to say. I'm not sure if I ever apologized.

"I…came to check on you," he muttered slowly, looking behind me as he placed his oversized Kazekage hat against the wall. "You're drunk."

"What the?!" I exclaimed, faking a look of hurt. "Why would you even think that? I'm not drunk. I've never had alcohol in my entire life!"

He gently pushed me out of the way, beginning to rip my room apart. "Because you smell like it," he growled, kicking over a chair. "You smell exactly like my father used to. Where is it?!"

"Gaara, quit it!" I yelled, latching onto his arm to hold him back. He turned to look at me and as I stared into his wild, psychotic eyes, I instantly released him. "Please, stop," I pleaded, lowering my voice. "I'm sorry, okay? I found it in the kitchen and decided to try it. I'm really not all that drunk, I promise."

"Where is it?" he whispered, making it apparent that he was trying to calm himself. Three years ago, I would've been dead on the spot. Hands shaking, I pulled the soucho from under the bed, immediately handing it over to him. He yanked it from my hand, examining the label on the front.

"Its really not all that bad," I pathetically said, as if it would make the situation any better.

"You couldn't have picked something with a lower alcohol content?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh, hey," I wispily said, "you're getting better at that whole joking thing! Good job, Gaara!"

Giving a defeated sigh, he handed the bottle back to me. "Enjoy your alcohol poisoning, Kyan."

Before I gave him the chance to leave, I said, "You act like I drink all the time. You know what I think? I think you're stressing yourself out and you're going to make yourself sick, and then you're gonna die. Maybe you need this crap more than I do."

Gaara turned, giving me a hard stare before eventually asking, "How does it taste?"

I lifted my hands from my side then dropped them again. "Like shit," I truthfully told him. "Probably the worst taste you'll ever have in your mouth. Unless you decide to actually eat shit, because then I might be lying to you right now. But I feel okay. I'm sure one sip won't kill you."

Okay, sure, I admit that trying to coax Gaara into drinking was probably a bad idea because within half an hour, we were both lying on my bed, dizzy beyond belief. As he spoke (or tried to), I couldn't help but to burst out into uncontrollable giggles. And as I laughed, he would give an amused smirk.

"This is a shitty feeling," Gaara said eventually, covering his eyes with his forearm. "The room won't stop spinning and I think I'm going to puke."

"Please don't." I rolled to my side, propping my head up with my arm. "You know, Gaara, I think if I knew you when we were little, things would be a lot different."

From under his arm, one curious eye poked out. He didn't reply and I knew I shouldn't continue with my intoxicated, jumbled thoughts. My mind bounced from my imaginary childhood with him, to the persistent urge to kiss his lips, to the constant idea of his bare skin on mine.

"After the incident," I continued, flopping onto my back, "I separated myself from my friends. I only had two to begin with, Kiba and Hinata, so I guess you can tell how popular I was. They were older than me, too. I know a year doesn't seem like much, but when it decides who is in your class, it becomes a real pain in the ass. Anyway, I was really alone after that, but I just feel that if Haketa and I were to have grown up here instead of Konoha, you and me…We would've been best friends, Gaara. Do you wanna know how I know that?"

"Hm?"

I shuffled my body up so that the tops of our heads were touching. "Because when I first saw you way back in the day, when Naruto was around and before Sasuke decided to become a betraying asshole, I wasn't scared. In fact, all I wanted to do was talk to you, but I couldn't because, well, you know."

I didn't know why I kept talking. My words just seemed to have a mind of their own and the more I tried to hold them back, the easier they came out.

"I didn't really care that Kankuro or Temari or my sister were afraid of you because when I first saw your bright ass red hair and your stupid beautiful fucking eyes, my heart dropped into my stomach. And at first, I didn't know why and I thought about it all the time. It took me a very long time to figure out why I was so worried about you during the Chuunin Exams, but I finally think I did."

I exhaled slowly, reaching up for his hand. At first, when our fingers touched, he flinched away from mine. But after a few moments, he extended toward me and I wrapped my fingers between his.

"You told me once," I kept on, wondering why my eyes were spilling tears to both sides of my head, "that you were unlovable, that nobody could ever care for you, and that you could never care for anyone but yourself. That is the most inaccurate thing you'll ever say to someone. People adore you. That's why you're the Kazekage and not someone like Kankuro, or Baki. And if you could never care for anyone, why did you take the Kazekage's position? You're protecting this village and everyone in it with your life now."

I closed my eyes, using my free hand to wipe my face. I should've stopped talking. I knew I should've, but at the same time, I never regretted my words. They needed to be said because I knew if I kept them inside forever, it would've ruined me.

"I don't know what being in love feels like," I told him, noticing how warm his hand felt in mine, "but I know that you are my best friend and I would give my life for you in a heartbeat. You're the only person I would ever consider going through all the pointless stress of marriage with and I know that's a stupid thing to say because I always say how much I hate that junk, but…" I counted down from three in my head. "…but I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life by your side."

Gaara sat up, releasing my hand. Turning his body, he peered down at me and I felt my heavy pulse in every part of my body. He hesitated, but eventually pressed his lips onto my forehead.

"You should never drink again."

* * *

**Hello! Me again! **

**I would like to just say that I do not support underage drinking. Please don't do it. It isn't as fun as people say it is. Just wait until your legal age. :) **

**Also, I hope you're enjoying the story so far! **


	6. Imagination

_**Scroll One; Chapter Six:**_

_**Imagination**_

"You sure you're okay?" Ryuuin asked for the seemingly tenth time that hour. I massaged the sides of my head with my pointer fingers as I leaned over the counter. Luckily, the restaurant was slow, so I had time to sit back and try to nurse the headache I'd had since I woke up.

"Yes," I breathed, closed my eyes tightly. "Just the worst headache I've ever had in my entire life."

In all actuality, it wasn't just the headache that had been making me feel strange. It was the reminder of everything that had happened the night before. Had it all actually happened? It felt as if it was a dream. Most of it came back in hazy clouds of confusion and a feeling of wanting and needing something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I glanced over the few customers we had as Gaara's voice, as well as my own, resonated in my mind.

"_Gaara, do you think you'll ever get married and have kids?"_

"_I never really thought about it before. I guess so, eventually."_

I sighed and shook my head. What a stupid thing to ask him. Never again would I get drunk, especially with Gaara, who had quickly sobered up within an hour or so.

Had he really kissed my forehead, or was that a trick my mind was playing on me? I tried to remember the feeling of it, but whenever I did, my headache seemed to get even worse. Thinking on it, though, it didn't really seem like a Gaara thing to do.

"Do you need to take another day off?" Ryuuin asked from behind me. He wiped his hands on a damp wash cloth before flopping it over his shoulder.

I gave a sarcastic snort. "Remember what happened the last time I took a day off? I don't think so. Besides, Haketa should be coming back sometime tomorrow."

"Already? Seemed like she just left yesterday."

I agreed with him, but that was how all my visits to Sunagakure felt. It never seemed long enough and I absolutely dreaded the day I had to leave. I knew my sister would cry, Temari would make some comment about how excited she is for me to come back to hold back her own tears, Kankuro would give me an annoying pat on the head because he still thinks I'm a brat, and Gaara would stand there until I approached him. Then, he would open his arms and I would cry and cry and cry on his shirt because for some reason, he's the only one I cry over leaving.

"When do you think you'll be back? Isn't Lord Kazekage's seventeenth birthday coming up in a few months?"

I turned, giving him a strange look. "Seventeen?" I repeated before closing my eyes again, covering my face with my hands. I swear Gaara had just turned fourteen a couple days ago. "I'm going to be sixteen. Jeez, man…"

"Ah, your birthday as well. That means you must come to celebrate."

January 19th wasn't close, but I knew time would fly by. Although my birthday was a week and two days after his, our siblings usually celebrated them both at the same time when my visits landed during.

"Yeah, I'll be here for that," I said, knowing it was an empty promise. I really had no idea if I would be, but I was always hopeful.

()()()

"You're sure you're okay?" Gaara questioned for the fifth time. I groaned and closed the window in my bedroom, blocking out the cold air that was sneaking its way in.

"You sound like Ryuuin, you know," I answered, turning back to him. He leaned against my doorframe, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He was subconsciously creating a barrier between us. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Gaara. How do you feel, by the way?"

"I'm perfectly fine," he replied. His tone was annoyingly cocky. "You?"

"Peachy." I grabbed the bottom edge of my shirt. "I'm, uh, going to change. You might want to turn around or something."

Instead of doing as I suggested, Gaara continued to stare at me, as if he hadn't heard a word I said. Just as I was about to repeat myself, he let out a short sigh and pushed himself from my frame, closing the door on his way out.

Even if he would have watched me change, it wouldn't have been as awkward as it sounds. He had seen me naked before, completely on accident, mind you. Even so, I'm sure the memories lingered in the back of his mind.

"_Kyan, I as—shit! Sorry! Sorry!"_

"_They're just boobs, Gaara! Not a big deal!"_

I chuckled at the thought. Gaara had been in a rush to leave and needed to tell me something. I never found out what that something had been, though. He had forgotten to knock on my door before coming in. Unfortunately, I was just in the process of pulling my underwear on when his eyes locked on my body, his breath catching in his throat, and a series of profanity escaped his lips.

Pulling a clean shirt over my head, I slipped my shoes back on. My last night in Suna would not be wasted. As I slipped out the window, I made a mental note to be sure of it.

()()()

The desert air was cold against my face as I hopped from the rooftops to the ground to telephone poles. This was something I had a ritual of doing on the last night of every visit. I inspected parts of the village that had been changed since the last time I wandered the streets. Some buildings seemed bigger as their families grew and some were newly vacant. Lights of houses began to flicker out and slowly, the village fell quiet.

I sat atop the same hill, wrapping my arms tightly around my body. Small shivers shuddered up my spine and knowing that I was risking getting sick, I decided to stay there for hours.

The last night always held an awkward tension for Gaara and I. For a reason unknown to us, we avoided each other, knowing that we would have to say goodbye for months in a few hours. I hugged my knees to my chest, mentally admitting to my desire to return to the mansion and spend the rest of my time with him.

But unfortunately, sometimes when Gaara was home, he still had his nose shoved in a book or reading through papers. I learned that being Kazekage meant giving up your freedom for the lives of hundreds of other people. It was undoubtedly a title I would never want.

So I continued to sit by myself for hours, until a floating eyeball ten feet away from me appeared. Groaning quietly to myself, I grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in the eye's direction.

"Stop doing that creepy shit, Gaara!" I yelled to it, watching it disappear in an instant, Gaara's form taking it's place.

"You're going to be miserable in the morning if you don't sleep before you leave," he scolded me.

I rested my cheek on the top of my knees and turned my head away from him. "I'm just trying to drag it out. I'm not really looking forward to going back."

Giving a soft sigh, he took a seat next to me, staring up at the moonless sky. "Yeah," he replied, "I'm not very thrilled about it either, but you're needed back in your village to continue your studies."

I rolled my eyes, sarcastically chuckling. "You can stop pretending, Gaara. You know just as well as I do that my studies aren't doing anything for me. I'm not cut out to be a Kunoichi. All I'm really good for is working in the restaurant and being the target of rapists. Hell, I never even officially graduated from the academy."

Gaara leaned back on his palms, stretching his legs out in front of him. "You're saying that all that time you spent with Lady Tsunade and Sakura has been a waste? That you haven't learned a single thing from them?"

"Well, I'm not exactly saying tha—"

"Then you are cut out to be a Kunoichi. Stop selling yourself short."

I turned my head to look at him, but I don't think he noticed. His eyes were glued to the dark sky and as I watched him, a familiar, intoxicated fluttering arose in my stomach. It wasn't the same sensation of thinking I was going to puke my guts out, but the need of his hand around mine and his lips on my skin.

"If you were a citizen here," Gaara continued, "you wouldn't have to go through the academy. I've seen what you can do. You're easily on the same level as the Chuunin."

I shook my head, tearing my gaze from his face. I copied his position, rolling my head to each side to stretch my neck. How long had I been sitting there?

"Wishful thinking," I answered. "I can't move here permanently. My mother would lose her mind. Besides, when she finally does step down, I'll be the one inheriting the restaurant in Konoha since my sister lives here now."

I threw the idea around in my head. Living in Sunagakure, with Gaara, as an actual Kunoichi. Then maybe in a few years' time, something unexpected would bloom between him and me. I couldn't put words together to describe how unbelievably ecstatic I would be if that could actually become a reality.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I'm just in a bad mindset right now. I keep thinking about tomorrow."

"You'll be back, though."

I would always be back. That was a given. So long as Haketa and Kankuro were married, I would always be lurking around Suna, whether it be for birthdays, festivals, or holidays. "Yeah, I will," I reassured him, even though he wasn't questioning it. "But things could be different next time."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him turn his head to look at me. "Things could be different every time you come, but so far, only one thing has ever changed and that was me becoming Kazekage. I'm sure the mansion will smell the same, or Temari will still be going on pointless dates."

"I didn't mean things like that." I inhaled heavily, letting out a long breath as I curled back in on myself. "I meant…" My words trailed off. I didn't how to say this. Discussions like this required the bravery of alcohol, but I never wanted that stuff near me again. "Gaara, what if…what if next time I come to visit, the occasion will be your wedding?"

Gaara gave me a doubting stare. "And who, Kyan, would I be marrying?"

I shrugged, knowing I was coming off has idiotic and paranoid. "I don't know, man. Maturi? Maybe some girl who you pass by on the streets tomorrow and fall completely head over heels for? I don't know. This is stupid, but I'm jealous. You're my best friend and imaging you and…and whoever – I can't do it." I let out a short sigh, placing my forehead into my hand. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this crap right now. Its probably one of the worst times."

I raised my head to look at Gaara, only to see him staring right at me. A strange look settled itself onto his face, one I couldn't quite understand. It seemed to be a mixture of confusion, satisfaction, longing, and…I'm not too sure.

Instead of saying anything in response to my rant, he simply broke his eye contact with me and returned to examining the sky. The sun was beginning to rise and I knew I had only three or four hours left. We sat in silence for only a short moment.

"Last night," Gaara muttered, digging his fingers through the sand, lifting it, and letting it drop, "you asked me if I have ever thought of marriage and children."

"Yeah, I guess I did. I hardly remember."

"Well, before that, the idea of it never crossed my mind. But I kept thinking about the way you asked it and because of it, I tried imaging myself with one person for the rest of my life and creating new life with that person. I tried picturing every female I knew as my wife, but in my mind, they appeared as a blank silhouette. Even Matsuri."

Although I knew I shouldn't have, I felt so incredibly relieved and cocky. I wanted to run to her house and shove that information in her face. That, no Matsuri, you'll never be Gaara's wife so quit trying.

"And then I pictured you," he said. My cloud 9 feelings skyrocketed as I snapped my eyes from the sunrise to his face. I wasn't sure if it was the sun's rays on his face or an actual blush, but his face gleamed a soft auburn color, nearly matching his hair.

"Oh," I whispered. "Silhouette, too?"

"No, actually. It was you. Maybe it was because at the wedding, I saw you in a dress that almost seemed like a wedding dress, or maybe not. I tried imaging our kids, too. I only came up with miniature versions of ourselves, though."

My body felt frozen. I repeated his words in my head a million times, just to make sure I had heard him right. Instead of jumping up and down in joy like I should have been doing, I gave him a soft nudge, which turned into my body leaning on his. Hesitantly, his arm snaked around my shoulders.

"Jeez, Gaara, you have a wild imagination."


	7. Happiness

**_Scroll One; Chapter Seven:_**

**_Happiness_**

My eyes fluttered open as my heart instantly dropped into my stomach. I stared at my ceiling for a few moments before realizing where I was: back home in Konoha.

"_That's right,"_ I thought, _"I got back sometime last night."_

I closed my lids and inhaled desperately, searching for the familiar smell of Gaara's pillows. Instead, I took in the scent of my own hair. I stretched my arms out, thinking that I'd eventually touch a warm body, but I only grabbed air. My throat tightened and I wanted to cry. I wasn't ready to leave.

As I dragged myself from my bed, I grabbed a change of clothes from my closet and made my way to the bathroom. My house felt strange, as if I didn't belong there. It didn't feel like home anymore.

When I'd returned home so many times before, I'd never had this sensation. I had always felt okay after waking up the next morning, but this time, I felt miserable, exhausted, and incomplete. It seemed as if I'd left a part of me back in Sunagakure.

As I stripped myself of my night clothing, I ran my pointer finger over the small russet mark just above my left breast. My mind instantly pictured Gaara's body, which sported an almost identical mark.

The warm water of the shower pelted my skin, washing off nearly all traces of Suna. The longer I stayed in the water, the stronger the urge to retreat back to Gaara's bedroom became. And when I thought of his bedroom, I thought of his voice. And when I thought of his voice, I felt his body against mine again.

"_You're sure? You're sure you want this?"_

"_Yes, Gaara, jeez!"_

"_Completely sure?"_

"_I've never been so entirely sure of anything else before."_

Unfortunately, Gaara had better self-control than I did. Just as I had braced myself, he had stopped, dipped his head in the crook of my neck, and whispered, "I can't do this to you."

Of course, I'd taken it personally and began to cry. Why? I don't know. Maybe I was hurt? Maybe because I was so close to something I'd wanted with him for so long and the embarrassment it not happening was too much for me to handle?

"Don't cry, Kyan," Gaara had said, pulling my naked body into his. "It isn't you. I just don't want your first willing time to be right now, with me. We're both letting tomorrow get to our heads. You'll thank me in the morning."

I never did thank him. In fact, I still had the same mindset when morning did officially come, when Haketa and Kankuro returned, and when I was making my way out of the village. Even as I wrapped a towel around my hair and pulled on clean clothes, I still craved him.

()()()

"So, tell me about your vacation," Mother pressed on as I swept mindlessly around the restaurant. She had been pestering me all morning with her questions. How was the weather there? Hot, of course. Did you make any new friends? If you count the rapist guy and his buddies, then sure. How's Gaara doing as Kazekage? Perfectly, like he always is.

"It was fine," I answered simply. "Just worked and trained a bit with Gaara."

"Learn anything new? Can you build sturdy sand castles yet?" she joked, flipping our sign to "open."

"Hah," I replied dryly. "No, I can't control sand yet. He did teach me how to get out of a wrist grab, though."

"_And where to touch a man to make him grit his teeth," _I added in my head. I would never tell her that, though.

My mother grabbed my left wrist tightly and, thinking she was joking, I met her gaze. A cocky smirk was plastered on her face. "Well?" she urged. "Try to get out of this."

"Mom, c'mon," I mumbled in annoyance, trying to pull myself from her grasp. "I'm not really in the mood for this crap."

"I want to see what he taught you. Don't be such a grump, Kyan."

I sighed. My mother was like Gaara in the way that they were both painfully stubborn. Once they wanted to do something, changing their minds was nearly impossible.

"It'll look bad on my part of a customer comes in and sees me beating the crap out of you," I tried to tell her, but once she rolled her eyes, I knew I had to please her, just like when she forced me to find a dance partner at my sister's wedding.

With my free hand, I grabbed onto her wrist, lifting it over both our heads as I twisted my own wrist through her thumb. Placing my palm on the back of her elbow, I shoved my body through her, tossing her stomach-down onto the floor. I kept my grip on her wrist and elbow as I kneeled beside her, twisting her arm against my thigh. The sound of the door opening caused my body to stand straight, releasing her instantly.

"Your first day back from Suna and you're already beating up on your mom, huh?"

"Oh my gosh," I whispered, practically sprinting toward the blond. He didn't smell the same as he did three years ago, but his hugs were just as tight. "Naruto! You're back!"

An embarrassed chuckle vibrated near my ear. "Yeah, I just got back about an hour ago," he told me, releasing my much smaller frame to help my mother up from the floor. Man, that kid grew.

"Naruto!" my mother greeted, pulling him into her own hug. He was even taller than she was, which really wasn't saying much. "How was your training? God, look how tall you've gotten. Kyan, is Gaara this tall?"

I shrugged, watching my mother inspect Naruto's clothing. She had always been insistent on repairing the holes he'd worn into his pants and shirts, and washing them when they became too dirty.

Maybe Gaara was taller than Naruto now? The last time I had seen the blue-eyed boy, Gaara had been shorter than him, just as he was to everyone else. Somewhere along the three years, though, he had hit a growth spurt and seemed to have grown a foot overnight.

"So tell me," Naruto started as I sat at a table with him. "How is he?"

"Who, Gaara? He's okay," I replied. I wasn't entirely sure what to say. "Just doing Kazekage stuff, I guess."

A proud smirk grew on the kid's face. "He's happy, I mean? Well, happier than before?"

Was Gaara happy? That was such a strange question. How could I truly know if he was? There was really no way to tell.

"Yeah," I lied. "He didn't try to kill me this trip." The expression of confusion that flashed across Naruto's face startled me for a moment. "Okay, that sounds really bad, I know. I'll explain. There had been a few instances during my previous visits to my sister where he just kind of…you know. It always started with headaches and I guess it was my fault. I wanted to help and he tried to keep me away. He just lost control and I was there when it happened. I never got too hurt, though. He always stopped himself."

Naruto let out a huff of relief. "That's good. I guess he really grew up, huh?" His tone was somewhat regretful.

"He did, but so have you." His eyes met mine as I offered a soft smile. "I mean, look at you. You look like a man now. And your voice is deeper. And…is that a moustache coming in?" His hand shot up to touch his upper lip, but as a laugh broke through, I couldn't keep up my façade of staring intently at his face.

"Wait, he doesn't have a girlfriend yet, does he?" Naruto questioned, giving me a playful smirk.

"No," I answered. "He doesn't."

()()()

I spent the next three hours catching up with Naruto. I told him about my sister's wedding, about my studies, and about my frequent visits to Sunagakure. In return, he told me about his training with Jiraiya, about the many places he traveled to, and how he was certain he would be able to find Sasuke now.

Luckily, the restaurant was practically dead, so my mother didn't need much help. She allowed me to leave early, but before I started home, I wandered to the small alleyway where I had first encountered Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.

I stood against the wooden fence, shoving my hands deep into my pockets. That day seemed as if it had only happened yesterday, but the fuzziness of my memory concluded that it truly was three years ago.

"_Jeez,"_ I thought as a cold chill shivered up my spine. _"We were so young back then. I can't even imagine myself as that weak, stuttering little girl."_

I could almost see the two enemy groups standing on opposite ends of the alley. Kankuro, with Konohamaru hoisted in the air. My sister, holding me back from rushing to his aid. Sakura, trying to apologize to the two siblings for our actions. Naruto, eating the pavement in a terrible attempt at being the hero.

And finally Gaara, who had appeared in a whirlwind of sand. I remembered the piercing glower of absolute hate he had cast our way when he threated to end his brother's life. I couldn't bring myself to let my mind repeat his words in his voice. It just seemed too out of place for him now.

The same flutter I felt before erupted in my gut again. It wasn't fear. It was curiosity and longing. More than anything, all I had wanted to do was talk with Gaara to find out why he was so angry. Little did I know back then that it would take me years to fully understand his mindset.

"You've come such a long way," I whispered to myself. I wasn't sure if I was speaking to Gaara, or to myself.

()()()

An envelope had been left on my pillow while I was gone. In a rush, I grabbed it and closed my window. Only a day had passed and he was already sending letters. I was sure that poor Takamaru was going to have it's work cut out for it, even though our little routine wasn't exactly "official business matters." I was positive that if the elders of Suna found out, they would certainly scold Gaara for it.

"Kyan," I read aloud as I lazed back on my bed. The letter gave off a small hint of his scent. "How as your journey back to Konoha? Shitty probably, as you always tell me. There's something we should discuss – in person. It isn't something meant for letters. – Gaara. P.S. Temari will be in your village within the next day for a meeting about the Chuunin Exams. Give your reply to her. She promised not to read it."

Disappointment hit me hard. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, though. Maybe an "I love you" or something along those lines? Who was I kidding? This was Gaara of all people. Expressing emotions like that was something he wasn't used to.

I reached under my bed, pulling out a notepad I used for all my letters to him, and began to write, "Dear Gaara, the journey was indeed shitty. That escort still doesn't understand any of my jokes. Oh well. Maybe next time I visit, I won't need a grumpy old guy tagging along? I miss you already. My bed isn't nearly as comfortable as yours. I feel homesick, which really sucks when you think you're home."

I stopped, reading over my words nine or ten times. As much as I wanted to tell him how badly I wanted to return to Suna just to be with him and that I loved him, I found myself erasing the letters that composed my feelings.

"I hope the Kazekage duties don't stress you out too much," I continued, pushing my urges aside. "Remember that you're the best at what you do. That's why you're in the position you're in and not some blind old guy with a cane. Please write back soon. Love, Kyan." I folded my letter, but just before I decided to place it into a new envelope, I added, "P.S. Are you happy?"

()()()

"Don't miss that spot over there, Kyan," Lady Tsunade ordered. I grumbled to myself, moving the bristles of my broom to the dusty spot beneath her bookshelf. This was payment for her teaching me simple medical skills, seeing that as I was still counted as a non-Kunoichi citizen, she could get in horrible amounts of trouble by the elders if they were to find out.

"Yes, Lady Hokage," I muttered.

As I proceeded with the tedious act of shuffling the broom side to side, my mind wandered to Gaara's letter. Although I had already given Temari my response, I felt as if I should've asked him what he needed to discuss with me. The anxiety it was causing me to feel was almost too much to bare.

"No way! That's a crappy mission!"

Naruto's booming voice startled me to the point of dropping the wooden stick on the floor. I hadn't even noticed that he had entered the room with Sakura and Kakashi at his side.

"Seriously?!" Lady Tsunade yelled. "You're really going to act that way?!"

Sakura gave a nervous giggle and wrapped her arm around Naruto's neck. "I-I'm sorry for him, m'lady! I'll sort him out!" she shouted as her grip tightened. He let out some strange, inhuman gurgling noise.

I bent over to grab the broom, but just as I did, one of Lady Tsunade's receptionists practically kicked the door down. Of course, it alarmed me, so I dropped the broom again.

"L-Lady Hokage!" she cried out, sweat dripping from her hair. Her panicked expression seemed to throw the room into a frenzy.

"What is it?!" Lady Tsunade asked, standing from her desk.

"I-It's Lord Kazekage!" the woman cried out. "He's been defeated and captured by the Akatsuki!"

My heart shattered, my knees gave out, and room seemed to spin. Sakura rushed to my side, but I couldn't feel her hands on my arms as she tried to help me to my feet. I felt as if I couldn't breathe, like my lungs weren't even there. The fading bruise on my chest seemed to burn as I screamed his name.

"GAARA!"


	8. I Will Give My Life

**I just want to give a huge thank you to Navi. I wanted to send you a message, but you signed in as a guest, so I hope you read this! I really appreciate your review for the last chapter. It was the very first one I've gotten for this story and it really makes me feel great that its worth reading. :) Thank you for your support!**

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_**Scroll One; Chapter Eight:**_

_**I Will Give My Life**_

I paced my bedroom floor frantically. I couldn't keep my thoughts in order as my stomach balled into a painful knot. I pulled at my hair, curling into myself against the wall. This was something I couldn't handle. I couldn't bear the thought of what the Akatsuki could be doing to Gaara and I couldn't understand why Lady Tsunade was so adamant about not allowing me to go with Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi to rescue him.

"_Absolutely not, Kyan. You'll only be a liability."_

"_Please, Lady Hokage! Gaara is part of my family and my best friend! I have to go! I can't just sit around and do nothing! I can't lose another person!"_

"_The answer is no. Anyway, you can leave after you've finished cleaning the windows."_

A piercing scream flew from my lips as I punched the floor hard. I was so incredibly angry with not only the Akatsuki, but with Lady Tsunade. I just wasn't able to put myself in her mindset.

My mother rushed into the room, her cheeks a soft cherry color and her eyes puffy. She had been a crying mess ever since I'd informed her of Gaara's abduction nearly two days before. She pulled me into a tight embrace, which I shimmed my way out of. I couldn't sit stationary and the sensation of her restraining arms was nearly enough to drive me crazy.

"Kyan, please try to contain yourself," my mother pleaded as I kicked my trash bin into the wall, leaving a small dent. Sleep had deserted me, so my patience was nonexistent.

"I'm going," I whispered, searching for my medical pouch. "I'm going rogue. I don't care. I need to help him."

"Listen to yourself!" my mother screamed, grabbing my shoulders tightly. Her fingertips dug into my skin painfully. "If you go rouge, they will find you and they will kill you, Kyan! Do you understand that?! You aren't thinking clea—"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I screeched, tears cascading from my eyes. I pushed her roughly from me. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS FEELS TO BE SO WORRIED SICK AND HELPLESS! I CAN'T JUST SIT BACK WHILE THEY HURT HIM, MOTHER! I DON'T CARE IF I DIE! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH THAT I WILL DIE FOR HIM!"

My mother gave a small sigh, wiping at her eyes once more. I only stood staring at her, my breathing erupting into small, gasping hiccups. I expected her to become angry that I had shoved her and raised my voice to her. Slowly, she pulled me into another tight hug, smoothing out my hair.

"You are certainly your father's baby girl," she whispered in my ear. Her voice was the opposite of angry, which fortunately calmed me down a small amount. "You love so strongly and passionately. I'm so proud of you." She took my hand in hers, gently guiding me toward her bedroom.

"Mom, what're you—"

"Hold on."

Releasing my hand, she knelt near the bed, grabbing underneath. After a moment of searching around, she pulled back a sheathed tachi. My heart plummeted. It had belonged to my father.

"Here," she murmured, holding it to me. I gazed at it for what seemed like hours. "I feel like you should have this now, since you have a reason to fight."

When I was younger, my father had taught me the basics of the weapon; where to slice a person to inflict the most damage, how to block with the blade, how to hold the hilt. I'd always used a replica wooden one, but as I took the genuine sword in my trembling hands, it felt as if it had been made specifically for me.

"No matter what you do," my mother said, not even trying to stop the tears from falling onto the floor. "No matter where you go or who you become, you will always be my daughter and I will always love you, Kyan."

Before I could take her into my arms, a loud rap came at the front door. We both hurried to the den, hoping for good news, and opened the door to stare directly into the chest of Lady Tsunade. My mother bowed respectively while I just gave her a confused gape. Behind her stood Lee, Tenten, Neji, and Guy.

"Going on a hunting trip?" she questioned, giving my tachi a cold glower.

"Something along those lines," I replied, trying to hide it behind my body although I knew it was a wasted effort.

"Kyan," she started, sighing in defeat, "I've given it some thought. I understand you are not a Kunoichi, but I also understand your feelings for Gaara. You'll be leaving on an aiding mission with Team Guy immediately."

I looked around, wondering if this was some sort of sick joke she was playing on me. "So, I don't have to go rogue?" I knew it was a dumb question, but I was in a state of intense disbelief.

"Of course not, silly!" Tenten replied cheerfully. "Now c'mon, let's go save your boyfriend."

"He isn't my boyfriend!"

()()()

Although the trip to Suna took three days, Lee had assumed we could make it in half a day. He didn't take into consideration that I, with hardly any Chakra buildup and significantly less stamina than the rest of them, was the weakest member of their team, thus slowing the group down tremendously. By the time night had fallen over us, Guy suggested we rest for a few hours for my sake.

As Tenten stirred in her sleep, I stared into the fire we had built. As exhausted as I was, I couldn't lie still enough to fall unconscious. My body was fully awake, but my mind remained in a constant haze. I wondered if this is how Gaara felt after sixteen years of no sleep?

"Miss Kyan, may I ask a personal question?" Neji whispered from across the embers as not to wake his teammates.

"Um, you can leave the 'miss' out, but sure." I hugged my knees tightly to my chest with my right arm as my left hand smoothed over the tachi beside me.

"Your relationship with Gaara, how exactly would you define it?"

My ebony eyes met his ivory ones. "My relationship with him?" I repeated, searching hard for an answer. "Well, I'm not really sure. I mean, he's my best friend, even if we're so far away from each other. And he—"

"You love him."

I nodded slowly. "If I have to, I will give my life for him."

Neji studied me in silence. In fact, he didn't say another word to me that night. Eventually, as he drifted off into slumber and Lee woke to take on the next duty of guarding, I found myself curled up next to Tenten, my own eyes shutting for the first time in three days.

()()()

I dreamt of Gaara's mother, Karura. I had only seen her in pictures throughout the mansion, in which she held her infant son and daughter. I'd never heard her voice before, but my mind seemed to have made up a concoction of a sweet, musical tone that sounded almost like Temari's.

In my dream, I walked with her though the empty streets of Suna. She stood a foot taller than me, but I was easily able to keep pace with her. Her blonde hair swayed with the direction of the wind, but never covered her face, which held a permanent smile. Her hand held securely onto mine.

"Kyan," she'd said, staring straight ahead at the Kazekage's mansion, "thank you."

"For what?" I'd asked. My own voiced echoed.

"For loving him."

"Who?"

Gaara's bloodcurdling scream – the one I'd heard during his fight with Sasuke at the Chuunin Exams – was the sound that woke me up. My body jolted up and I realized I was drenched in sweat. Tenten peered down at me, her brows pushed together in a concerned gaze.

"We should go," I muttered, wiping my face with the bottom of my shirt. We took off once again, the blazing heat of the sun pounding against our backs. Within ten minutes, we were stopped by Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summoned dogs.

"As instructed, we eight Shinobi dogs fanned out and tracked down the scent of the Akastuki, provided by Kankuro," Pakkun informed us.

"Kankuro? How'd he get the scent?" I asked.

"He was attacked by one of the members and was gravely poisoned," he replied. My breath caught in my throat. "He's okay now, so don't start your crying. Sakura saw to that."

As much as I didn't want everyone else to see, tears had instantly welled up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away, giving the mutt a hateful glower.

"_If I'm going to save Gaara,"_ I thought, _"I can't start crying over something like this. Kankuro's okay."_

"Did Haketa…? Did she follow him?" I managed to ask, my voice threatening to crack.

"No. She was at home when the attack happened, but she's devastated. They found out the Akastuki is heading to the Land of Rivers, located on the borders of Konoha and Suna," Pakkun continued. "That means that as of right now, we're the closest to them. I'll explain the rest on the way."

()()()

Hours had passed and as much as my legs screamed for me to stop running, I kept pushing forward, trying my hardest to keep up with the rest of the team. I had to get to Gaara. I kept telling myself that I absolutely had to. Luckily, I could tell that I wasn't the only one who wasn't in the best of shape. Tenten's breaths sounded as ragged as mind did. Even Neji was loudly panting.

Pakkun's noisy sniffing alarmed us all. "Someone's coming!" he muttered.

Without hesitation, Neji activated his Byakugan, the veins surrounding his eyes bulging out. I glanced away. The sight had always grossed me out.

"Directly behind us!"

A deafening rumble shook the ground around us and before I could realize what was going on, my waist was grabbed and I was yanked away from the advancing object within the earth. As I twisted my body against Lee, I made out what seemed to be a wrapped shark fin. The dust around us cleared and I realized that the shark fin was actually a sword, held by a mountainous man who resembled a fish.

"Wait a second," Guy muttered to himself. His voice boomed around us as he addressed the fish man. "Who are you?!" Instead of an answer, we received silence.

"This can't be," Neji said. "His Chakra level is off the charts! I haven't seen anyone but Naruto with that much Chakra."

"You're as stupid as your haircut," the aquatic Shinobi insulted, cockily smirking to Guy. "This time, I'll be sure you remember the name Hoshigaki Kisame!"


	9. Broken

_**Scroll One; Chapter Nine:**_

_**Broken**_

"This one is an Akatsuki as well?" I wondered aloud, my eyes locked on the black and crimson cloak Kisame wore, as well as his headband. A line had been engraved deep into the Kirigakure symbol.

A deep thunder of a laugh came from Kisame's throat as he tossed his blade up into the air. It seemed to linger high above him in an endless flip as he pressed his palms together. "Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave!" He reared his head back and from his mouth came a waterfall, lifting his body excessively above us. The sword finally fell and Kisame caught it gracefully in his palm.

My legs began to shake as the fish man came toward us, creating a gigantic wave. I focused my Chakra into my feet, following the rest of the team as they jumped high into the air to avoid him. Luckily, Kisame surfed right on by, allowing us to land back on the large rocks we had found safety on.

"_I don't get it," _I pondered, keeping a tight grip on the hilt of my tachi. _"He could've easily sliced through at least one of us with that attack."_

As if I had jinxed us with my thoughts, water slashed painfully onto my back. It definitely wasn't ordinary water. From behind us, Kisame rose from a spitting spring of the raging liquid, sending it crashing down toward Tenten and Guy. Like before, they jumped to avoid it.

"Move!" Tenten called from the air. Lee grabbed my wrist and yanked me sky bound just in time for the water to miss sweeping me away.

Kisame was toying with us, sending the waves smashing back and forth. The only thing we could do to save ourselves was to keep jumping.

"Do you remember me now?!" Kisame roared to Guy.

Lee and I landed on a flat rock behind their sensei while Neji and Tenten landed on another about ten feet away. I was entirely sure that we were all wondering where all the water came from. There was no way Kisame could've stored it all inside his body.

"This technique of his requires an ungodly amount of Chakra," Neji commented.

With another creepy laugh, Kisame disappeared into the water. The five of us searched around the surface nervously. I tried to silence my breathing, trying to listen for his body underneath. All I could hear, though, was the sound of the waves smacking against the rocks we held base on.

In a quick moment, another tsunami arose, heading directly for Guy. Again, we jumped to avoid it, but instead of the water falling as it did before, it kept coming, bringing Kisame with it, his sword ready to attack. Once he was close enough, he swung at Guy. With a swift motion, Guy delivered his foot into Kisame's face, which promptly fell apart as water. Another Kisame sprung up behind him.

"A clone," Neji hissed as we landed on the rock.

I struggled to see over the water above us. I heard shouts and grunts, and before I could realize that he had moved, Lee was high in the air, kicking Kisame's sword out of his hands. Kisame yelled in surprise, suddenly facing Neji, who pulled his palm back and yelled, pushing it forward with an invisible force, "Eight Trigram Air Palm!"

I could only stand back and watch as Kisame flew through the air, holding his own hand out. As if it had a mind of its own, his sword returned to his palm. He thrust it into the water, slowing his sailing body down.

Tenten chuckled beside me and only then did I notice that she had unrevealed the large scroll she carried on her back. An explosion brought my attention back to Kisame, who had been attacked by one of her spike bombs. Unfortunately, just before the paper bomb attached to it detonated, he had dived underwater, avoiding the fire and the kunai knives that shot out in every direction.

"Where is he?" Guy questioned after two minutes of absolute silence.

"In front of us," Neji replied. "And coming closer."

Slowly, a mess of blue hair sprouted from the water's surface. "I'll give it to you, you brats are a lot more trouble than you're worth," Kisame growled, his entire body eventually emerging. "In fact, you're incredibly annoying."

"Counterattack time," Guy told us. "I'll go in first and as soon as his guard is down, you move in!"

"Okay!"

"Yes sir!"

"Yes sensei!"

"Got it!"

"Are you so much of an idiot to think I'll lower my guard that easily?" Kisame questioned. "So be it. You can learn the hard way." He began sprinting toward Guy and as I watched them attack and dodge, I felt as if my feet were glued to the rock.

"_Don't do this now, Kyan! Do not freeze up now! Gaara needs you!" _I mentally yelled to myself. It was no use. My palms became sweaty and my knees started to feel as if they were going to give out.

I stared in pure helplessness as the team attacked Kisame. Although their weapons and jutsus were fantastic, none of their blows injured him. So how could I, someone who wasn't even qualified as a Kunoichi, have any hope to help defeat a member of the Akatsuki?

"That weapon," Guy muttered to himself, but loud enough for the rest of us to hear. I'd noticed it, too. Every time Kisame was attacked, he was able to block using only his sword.

"_If I can get his sword away from him. That should be something at least I could do!" _I thought as I ran full-force toward Kisame, my hand gripping tightly on the hilt of my tachi. I wasn't sure if I heard Neji yelling for me to stop. An intense ringing blocked my ears.

"Weak," Kisame grumbled, swinging at me with his blade. I wasn't prepared for his speed or lack of effort. The only thing I could do was sloppily block his attack with my own sword. The end result was definitely not in my favor as I was tossed like a doll into a rock.

The back of my head slammed against the solid surface and my body tumbled into the water. Once I shook off the static feeling, I fumbled around for my sword and rose to the surface, taking in as much air as I could hold within my lungs. My teammates had commenced their attacks on Kisame, seeing as Guy had successfully separated him from his weapon. I sighed in relief.

"_At least my efforts didn't go completely wasted," _I told myself, using the rock to hoist myself from the water.

Just as Neji, Tenten, and Lee assaulted Kisame, water clones appeared before him, acting as shields as they caught punches and kicks. I yelped in surprise as I was grabbed by my hair. Flailing about, I turned to stared at the ugly face of another Kisame clone.

"You stupid smelly fish!" I screamed, straining to land my own punches in his nose. It felt as if I were punching running water, doing absolutely no damage.

"Water Prison Justu!" the real Kisame yelled. From the clone, a sphere of water formed around me, halting all my movements and my breathing. I struggled against it, watching in horror as my teammates suffered the same fate.

The ripples of the water made it difficult to see outside of the bubble. My chest began to burn as my lungs screamed for air. The ringing in my ears became defeating. My head felt as if it were going to explode. I tried to focus on Guy, but before I knew it, my memory was fading in and out. I remembered Guy and Kisame attacking back and forth, looking over to Tenten's unconscious body floating, and a blinding white light. Maybe this was death?

()()()

I stared into his eyes, ignoring the darkness behind him. "Gaara," my mouth formed. I reached out to him, but my hands faded right through his body. He watched me as if I was someone he didn't know.

Gaara turned his back to me and as I tried to grab onto him, he began to walk away. I called after him, screaming his name over and over again, until finally, the darkness had swallowed him whole.

()()()

"…hear me? …Kyan! …it again, Neji."

A pair of lips crashed onto mine and a gust of air was forced into my lungs. A stinging pain immediately shot through my throat. Involuntarily, my body flipped over and I coughed out water and stomach bile. The gasping breath of air forced me into a state of light-headedness.

"Oh thank goodness," Tenten exclaimed in relief. I crushed my palms into my eyes, wiping furiously. As I looked around, I counted my teammates. Three of them. Guy was missing.

"Where's Guy?" I asked frantically, watching as Neji wiped his lips with the backs of his hands. "Oh, and thank you, Neji. Don't worry, you didn't steal my first kiss."

"I wasn't exactly worried about that," he defended, giving me a hard glare. "Guy-sensei is over there." He pointed with his elbow to a figure in the distance.

Lee and Tenten helped me to my feet. At first, I felt horribly dizzy, but after a few steps I was able to walk on my own. Instead of gazing down on a dead Kisame like I was expecting, Guy was staring down at a man I'd never seen before in my life. A bloodied Sunagakure headband replaced the scarred Kirigakure one.

"What is this?" I questioned.

"A jutsu of the Akatsuki," Guy explained. He shook his head in annoyance. "We need to hurry."

"Agreed," I replied. "Gaara could be…" I couldn't bring myself to say it or to completely believe it. He was Gaara, the Kazekage. He couldn't die. There was no way.

()()()

"This?" Tenten questioned as we came to a large rock. Again, Neji activated his Byakugan, sensing for Chakra within the cave.

Beside me, Guy panted softly. I chewed on my bottom lip, contemplating my next moves. "Are you okay?" I decided to ask him.

"Of course I am! Never been better!" he declared, giving me the worst fake smile I'd ever seen.

"Look, you don't have to lie to me, you know. I do have some medical training. Let me heal some of your cuts. It's the least I can do for you."

As I took Guy's hands in mine, I felt my skin tingle against his. Slowly, his cuts vanished and the forming bruises hid themselves. "The least you can do?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well, back with the fake Kisame," I started, moving to his other hand. "I didn't do anything to help you guys. Lady Tsunade told me I would be a liability. I can see where she's coming from now. I know I'm not really Kunoichi material, but thank you for bringing me along."

"Look at what you're doing right now, Kyan," Tenten said, pointing to my glowing hand. "Not Kunoichi material? Who are you trying to fool? If it hadn't been for you, I doubt Guy-sensei would've been able to get the sword away from Kisame. And a person who isn't made for the Shinobi world wouldn't be here right now, trying to save a fellow comrade. They would be back home, serving food in a restaurant."

I turned to her smiling face, tossing her words around over and over in my head. Maybe she had a point? Three years ago, I never would have pictured myself fighting to save Gaara's life, or fighting at all. I always figured I'd work in the restaurant day in and day out for the rest of my life.

"Gaara is on the other side of that boulder," Pakkun, who perched himself on Lee's shoulder, said as he pointed with his paw. I finished treating Guy and pressed my hand on the gigantic rock.

"_Gaara, just hang on."_

"This isn't going to be easy," Guy reminded us.

"What do we do?" I demanded to know. Anything to get on the other side – to get to Gaara.

"We smash it to pieces!" Lee replied, receiving a shake of the head from Guy.

Sounds of water behind us caused me to turn around to face Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, and an unknown old woman. I studied Naruto, who didn't hold the same features as before. The scars on his cheeks were more defined and instead of the piercing cerulean color of his eyes, they were stained crimson.

"Looks like we were just a step behind you guys," Sakura commented, giving me a friendly smile. "Kyan, I didn't expect you to be here."

I shrugged, returning a grin. "Well, you know, its Gaara."

"Hey, who is she?" Tenten asked, pointing to the old woman.

"Oh, this is Lady Chiyo, an advisor from Suna," Sakura introduced. The wrinkled woman, Chiyo, lifted her hand into a peace sign and gave an almost toothless smirk.

"Its to meet you," she said.

"Okay," Guy announced, throwing his hands high above his head. "Let's go something about this giant rock! First, Neji, what do you see?"

We all turned to Neji, who had been searching past the rock the entire time we'd been talking. His white pupils flicked side to side as he let out a long breath. "It looks like a large cavern, but…I just…I can't make out what's going on in there. There are so many people."

"What about Gaara?!" Naruto and I asked simultaneously.

"I'm trying to find him now," Neji replied. Silence. So much painful silence that after a minute, I yanked on his arm.

"C'mon!"

"Kyan, knock it off!" he snapped, swatting me away. "I…What _is_ that thing?" He pulled himself back, his Byakugan retracting.

"What?" Naruto demanded to know. "What did you see?!"

"I don't…I don't know. I can't describe it." He seemed to be in a daze.

Lee huffed and pressed his fists together. "Then for Gaara, we must go in there and see for ourselves!"

"When I touched the rock," I started, pointing to it, "I wasn't able to fully come into contact with the surface. They have a barrier on it." I raised a finger to an obvious seal that had been placed on the boulder.

"So, what's the plan?" Neji asked.

"Its apparent that we must first get rid of that barrier," Guy replied as he looked at it himself. "We need to, firstly, figure out what sort of barrier it is."

The nine of us stared at it for a long while. I had no clue how to figure out what kind it was, so the wait was killing me. I just wanted to get to Gaara and get him home. Knowing him, he was probably starving to death.

"A Five Seal Barrier," Kakashi finally said.

"Agreed," added Lady Chiyo.

"There are five seals around the area that are contributing to this barrier. The first is before us, so the other four are scattered somewhere else."

"Let's just find them and rip them off. Doesn't sound too hard," I suggested.

"They need to be taken off at the exact same time," Kakashi informed me. "Unless they're pulled off simultaneously, the barrier will remain."

Frustrated, I yelled, "Then how are we going to find out where the other tags are?!" It just seemed like every time I thought we were getting close to Gaara, a new obstacle would pop up. I was tired of it.

"Neji," was all Kakashi said.

Neji activated his eyes once more, breathing out slowly as he searched around for the rest of the seals. Once they were found, he hurriedly gave the coordinates. Guy swung his backpack over his shoulder, digging around in them and as he pulled out small earpieces, he grinned proudly.

"I knew these would come in handy someday. We can communicate with these," he told us, handing them to Kakashi, Neji, Tenten, and Lee. "My team is the fastest, so leave it to us."

"Please hurry," I asked of him.

"Of course, Kyan!"

After Guy had assigned his students to a point, he gave me a reassuring smile and ordered them to scatter. Before I was finished blinking, the four of them were gone. Pakkun, too, had decided to say his goodbyes and disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Kyan," Naruto said, turning to me, "why are you here? Didn't Lady Tsunade deny your request to come?"

I nodded, pressing at a bruise on my forearm. "Yeah, she did," I replied. "But she changed her mind. Honestly, I was going to come anyway, even if it meant going rogue. I can't just sit around knowing Gaara is in trouble."

"You sister is the one who married young Kankuro, is she not?" Chiyo wondered, advancing toward me. She took my face in her hands, staring awkwardly at my eyes. "Yes, you two have the same eye color and shape."

I took a step away from her. I didn't exactly enjoy people I didn't know touching my face like that. "Uh, yeah. Haketa's her name."

"She's a fine lass," she complimented. "Although, my only encounter with her was when she was hysterically crying over Kankuro as he squirmed in pain. Poor girl."

The image of my sister hunched over Kankuro like that sent sharp pain through my chest. I felt incredibly sorry for her. I couldn't image the kind of hurt she was in, nor could I imagine the roles reversed in which I would cry over Gaara's broken body. It wouldn't happen. He's Gaara, the Kazekage. Protector of thousands of people. He was strong.

"The moment the barrier is gone," Kakashi ordered, "Sakura will destroy the boulder at the entrance. That will be our signal to charge inside and rescue Gaara."

I stood near Naruto, avoiding Chiyo's grasping hands. She had the urge to touch my face, commenting on my resemblance to my father. I didn't want to hear anything about him. Not right now. There were more important things to be dealt with.

Sakura took her position in front of the boulder, her arm held back and ready to burst through it. Kakashi knelt by the seal above us, his hand ready to rip it off. The muscles in my legs tightened. Just a few more seconds, and I would be with Gaara again.

In a few moments, everything would be okay.

"Now, Sakura!" Kakashi yelled, ripping the seal off. Giving a loud yell of encouragement, Sakura ran the few steps and delivered her fist into the rock. A large crack rippled upward from the contact point and the entire thing came down in shattered earth.

We rushed inside the dark cave, blinking rapidly to adjust our eyes to the sudden change of lighting. My body instantly froze at the sight before me.

"We're too late," Kakashi muttered.

Two cloaked men sat before us. One hunched over with his face covered by a hat, and the other, a blond, sat on top of Gaara's body. My hands became numb and I could hear my heartbeat in every single part of me. Gaara laid motionless, his eyes closed. I watched for breathing, but because of the man on top of him, I couldn't tell if he was.

"GAARA!" Naruto screamed, his voice transforming into something deep and demonic. "GET UP! WHY ARE YOU JUST LYING THERE?! WHAT, ARE YOU DEAF NOW?!"

The blond man before us laughed. "I think maybe you should know," he told us with a sly smirk, "that Gaara here is already dead."

At that moment, I forgot every single aspect of myself. All I wanted – more than anything – was revenge.


	10. I Need You

_**Scroll One; Chapter Ten:**_

_**I Need You**_

What hope could I have against two Akatsuki members? I didn't care. I wanted them both dead. I wanted to torture them, to cut their bodies up and burn them alive. I wanted to skin them. I wanted to rip their fingernails and eyeballs out. I wanted to hear them scream.

Naruto, who stood next to me, seemed to have the same idea. I could feel the Chakra radiating from his body as his breathing escaped in ragged gasps. "Give him back," he growled, rearing his head back as he took off running toward the two. I began after him. "GIVE GAARA BACK YOU FUCKING—"

Sakura caught me by my wrist, yanking me back against her where she held me tightly against her own body. Kakashi had stopped Naruto short as he appeared in front of him defensively.

"Calm down," Kakashi ordered us. "Neither of you are thinking."

"_I have to get to him,"_ I thought in a panic, struggling against the pink haired girl. _"I have to get to Gaara! Let me go!"_

Words seemed unable to form, so instead of begging Sakura to release me, I let out some sort of demonic battle cry. The more I kicked my legs around, the tighter she held onto me.

The man who seemed hunched over turned to the blond, who promptly asked, "Something on your mind, Sasori?"

"Deidara, I'll hold onto him," he replied in a deep voice, motioning toward Gaara's lifeless body. "Since that jinchuriki seems so hell-bent on getting him back."

Instead of agreeing, Deidara shook his head. The two of them argued for a moment over who would take Gaara and even though it was the perfect time to strike, Sakura's grasp on my remained and Kakashi continued to block Naruto.

However, when Kakashi turned from Naruto, the blond yanked a scroll from his pouch, summoning a giant shuriken from it. The amount of pure rage he put into his throw was obvious, but Sasori – with the utmost grace and ease - deflected the metal weapon with his hidden tail. I could've sworn I saw a drip of purple liquid drop from the tip.

"_This guy must've been the one who almost killed Kankuro,"_ I assumed.

The two Akatsuki members carried on with their bickering. I wondered if Sasori even glanced at Naruto's attack. My fear was beginning to paralyze me. My knees locked and my tongue became numb.

Sasori reared his tail back, mumbling a low threat to Deidara, who only smirked and stood from Gaara's body. A short-lived feeling of relief flooded over me, casting out some of the fear. It all came rushing back, though, when Deidara lifted his hand, a gigantic clay bird emerging from it. It didn't seem like a normal bird. Instead, it reminded me of the stupid drawings Haketa and I would make when we were much younger.

"It isn't even in the same league compared to your grotesque puppet show," Deidara commented as the bird sniffed at Gaara, eventually taking him in it's mouth.

Sasori scoffed, his tail aiming directly for his cocky partner. Rolling his eyes, Deidara jumped back onto his bird. I watched in horror as the bird tilted it's head back, swallowing Gaara. As much as I wanted to scream, I couldn't find my own body to do so. The bird soared above us, toward the exit of the cave, and as it escaped, Deidara smiled and lifted his hands into a peace sign.

As if sharing the same thoughts, Naruto and I took off full-force after him. Although my entire being felt numb, I forced myself to keep going, constantly reminding myself that yes, I do have legs even though I can't feel them at the moment and that yes, Gaara would be doing the exact same if the positions were reversed.

Stopping atop a worn down shrine arch, we watched Deidara circle the sky. "He's taunting us," I growled, wondering exactly how far I could through my tachi. Maybe, if my father and grandfather were truly watching over me, I could pierce his head or possibly even his jugular vein.

Within moments, Kakashi was by my side, talking into the radio on around his neck. "Guy, do you read me? The enemy has split up. We're going to need your team. Return as quickly as you can." I was able to hear distinct chatter from Guy's side, but when Kakashi let out a rough sigh, I knew they wouldn't be able to help us.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" I screeched to Deidara, as if my words would do anything. I reached into my own pouch, pulling senbon and throwing them as hard as I could. They only bounced off the clay bird's body, falling into the water below us.

"Are you so willing to waste your time on me, Kakashi of the Sharingan?" Deidara questioned. Only then did I notice Kakashi had pulled down his mask, revealing his Sharingan eye. "You know, my partner, Sasori, is probably a more dangerous opponent than I am, as much as I hate to admit it. His idea of art is very different from my own." He lifted his eyes to the cave behind us, a proud smirk growing on his face. "I'd be worried about that pink-haired chick and the old lady if I were you. You really think they're good enough to take down Sasori?"

"Kakashi-sensei, you should go help Sakura and old lady Chiyo," Naruto suggested through his tightened jaw. "And Kyan, you need to go back to the village."

"Absolutely not," I replied sternly. There was no way I would turn and run. I'd gotten so far and Gaara was within mere feet from me.

"_JUST GO!"_ he shouted, launching himself toward Deidara. Kakashi had tried to grab onto him to hold him back, but he was too late. Deidara's bird had hovered from Naruto's attack, sending the boy crashing into the rock wall behind him.

Deidara closed his fist tightly. While he was focused on creating another bird, Kakashi whispered to me, "I'm going to launch you, okay? One, two, three!" I gave him my hand, which he grabbed tightly and hurled me toward our enemy. I flew past a much smaller bird and landed sloppily on the immense clone as it exploded behind me.

The realization that a member of the Akatsuki was right in front of me sent a pulse of adrenaline through me. I unsheathed my tachi, attacking in the manner my father had showed me years ago. Unfortunately, Deidara was extremely fast and dodged everything I threw at him.

"My, my, you're a bit of an oddball, aren't you?" he commented, giving me that smirk that I so wanted to cut into pieces. "Too bad you aren't even close to defeating me!" His leg collided with my gut and before I could realize what was going on, I was sent tumbling the same way Naruto was.

"Got you!" Kakashi said, cushioning my landing in his arms. I felt as Deidara's kick took every breath out of me.

As I struggled to breathe, he laughed from his bird perch. "I would've been so disappointed if you were killed with just that one little attack."

"FUCK YOU! GIVE GAARA BACK!" Naruto screamed.

"You're quite a strange jinchuriki, huh? I thought you were all sullen loners who didn't care about anyone but yourselves. So far, we've destroyed two of your kind, not including him, of course. But nobody tried to save the others before. Not a single friend," he said, his eyes flicking to Naruto, then to me, "not a single lover. Not a single soul came to help them. In fact, it seemed like most people were grateful that we had disposed of them. Maybe you can't ignore one of your own kind, huh? Maybe you feel connected to this pathetic creature?"

"DON'T CALL HIM THAT!" I shrieked, the tears finally falling from my eyes. "HE ISN'T PATHETIC!"

"You mean he _wasn't_ pathetic. When we removed Shukaku from him, Gaara ceased to exist. Very soon, Naruto, the same thing will happen to you."

"Gaara's gone?" Naruto questioned. I stared at him – at the strange crimson Chakra forming around his body. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

Humming to himself, Deidara ordered his bird to flee. I allowed my feet to skid down to the water below, using my Chakra to run after him on the surface. Before long, Naruto and Kakashi were in front of me. Even though my legs screamed for me to stop, I pushed on to keep up with them.

"Guy, do you copy?" Kakashi asked, bringing his finger to the radio. "How is everything on your end?"

The only response was extremely loud groaning and shouts. I figured things weren't going as great as we had hoped, but their team was amazing. They would make it out of whatever was going on.

We came to trees that had fallen centuries before and whose roots and tops had been covered in layers upon layers of soil. Bile threatened to rise in my throat as we jumped high on them, but I forced it down.

"You'd better catch up to me soon, or I don't know what's going to happen to the body!" Deidara taunted. His words only sent me into a frenzy of rage and panic.

From the sky fell three tiny birds that expanded into much larger ones. One of them collided with the tree trunk Naruto had been standing on. The explosion knocked him off his feet. I narrowly avoided the fiery smoke of the one nearest to me. The final bird was struck down by Kakashi's shuriken.

"Come on!" I yelled to Naruto as he climbed his way to the top of a trunk. "Hurry!" I sped past him, my eyes locked on Deidara's mobile bird. It definitely didn't take him long to catch up to me.

"You two need to slow down! We're straying too far from the others!" Kakashi ordered.

"Are you joking me?! He's going to get away!" I replied.

"He won't go as far as to lose us! He's luring Naruto!"

"Then tell me how to take him down!" Naruto growled. "We don't have much time!"

"Don't worry. I have a plan. I just need more time to work out the kinks, but you two need to calm down."

We followed Deidara for miles and miles. I knew I was well past the point of exhaustion. I'd never pushed myself so hard before. Sweat dripped from every part of my body and my mind seemed jumbled. At a point, I'd forgotten what I was doing and who I was with.

"You both are close-combat fighters," Kakashi eventually pointed out, bringing me back to reality. "Deidara is a long-range fighter. We either need to fight him up close, which Kyan proved does not easily work, or beat him at his own game."

"What do you mean by 'his own game'?" I questioned.

"You need a long-range fighter or someone who can use long-range ninjutsu. If you don't have either of those, there's no way you can beat him. Now, if you had the intellect of Shikamaru, that would be a completely different story."

"What are you trying to say?!"

"I have that superior intellect," Kakashi continued. "I can also sustain in a long-ranged battle."

"Then we don't need to worry about that part!" I added. He nodded in response.

"Which is why I said to calm down. Now, chasing him like this isn't doing anything. He isn't giving us much of an opening with that bird of his blocking us. So we must create one ourselves."

As Kakashi drilled his plan into our heads, I could feel myself wearing down even more. His expectations of me exceeded anything I could ever even think of doing, but as Gaara's face flashed in my mind, a new sense of determination settled itself within me. I imagined the form of his drunken lips, the confused tilt of his head, and the very first time he'd ever smiled at me. Just as it did that day, my heart was sent into a flutter of excitement.

"Ready? Go!" Kakashi ordered, opening his eyes wide. I focused on his Sharingan. It was unlike any I'd seen before, which in all honestly was only Sasuke's during his Chuunin Exam fight with Gaara.

Naruto grabbed onto my arm and I was once again thrown up to Deidara. "You again?! Worthless brat!" he grumbled as I landed on the bird's back. He attempted another kick, but I was able to duck and dodge this one. Like I was told, I didn't attack. I only kept my back to my teammates, barely avoiding Deidara's kicks and head-butts.

"Now, Kyan!" Kakashi's voice echoed from below. Before I pushed myself into a backflip away from him, I gave Deidara a well-deserved middle finger.

As I landed into the water below, I knew Deidara had made eye-contact with Kakashi. That was all we needed. The rest should be easy.

I swam to the surface, crawling out onto the top. Naruto had fallen back, giving his sensei some room to perform. Although my soggy clothes dragged me down, catching up to him was undemanding. Deidara's image wavered. He swirled into an invisible force and even from as far away as we were, Naruto and I could hear his pained groans. Blood spattered down, followed by an arm.

"_This must have something to do with Kakashi's Sharingan,"_ I pondered, making a mental note to never get caught up in the gaze.

We had finally caught up to Kakashi. I took his hand in mine, focusing most of my remaining Chakra into his wounds. His breath was heavy and staggered as he muttered, "I let him get away."

"Don't sweat it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto remarked, coming up behind us with a clone. We followed him to where Deidara had disappeared, only to witness him yell, "Rasengan!" A blue Chakra orb formed in his hand with the help of his clone and he pushed it toward the older blond, who jumped away from it without hesitation. Instead of chasing after him, Naruto shoved his hand through the neck of the bird, decapitating it.

"Gaara!" I called, taking my attention from Kakashi to catch the head along with two additional Naruto clones. We were able to place it on a tree branch safely, but soon found out just how hard the clay was. I scraped away at it with my fingers, but resorted to punching when my nails began to bleed.

After what seemed like hours, the shell began to crack. One of the clones reared back his fist, delivering a powerful blow. I could see Gaara's hair through the hole he left.

"Gaara!" I screamed, reaching for him. The hole was still too small, so I worked with the clones to break it open enough to touch him. "Please answer me, Gaara! Stop playing around!"

Finally, the clones were able to pull him from the head. Gaara hung lifelessly in their arms. I kneeled down next to him, waiting desperately for him to lift his head and ask, "Got you, didn't I?" But when he didn't, I ran my fingers through his dirty hair, pressing my forehead against his as a bloodcurdling scream escaped my throat. I couldn't even focus on the actions next to me. I knew Naruto was going about as crazy as I was on a clay replication of Deidara, but I couldn't bring myself to leave Gaara.

"Kyan! We need to go!" Kakashi yelled. Only then did I realize Naruto's immense Chakra. I turned to him and through my blinding tears, I could see an incredible aura surrounding him. It had even taken on the form of two pointed ears and a tail. I looked up at the two clones that were supporting Gaara. They wore blank expressions.

In a hurry, Kakashi leaped down from the tree branch, throwing a seal onto Naruto's forehead. Slowly, the aura dissipated and the clones shook their heads, rubbing their eyes sleepily. The true Naruto fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Have you calmed yourself?" Kakashi asked cautiously.

"Yeah," Naruto replied, taking a large breath.

Two more, much weaker Chakra sources were coming fast. I readied to fight again, fueled by a pure storm of wrath, but sighed in relief Sakura and Chiyo showed themselves. Both of them looked like they had been through hell and back.

As they conversed, I turned back to Gaara. I reached up, touching his cold cheek with my palm. "I love you," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Thunderous crashing noises sounded from not too far off in the forest. My heart dropped into my stomach. There was no way we could continue fighting for very much longer. We had all been pushed to our limits. Luckily, about twenty feet away, Guy's team had appeared. Unluckily, with Deidara. I strained to see what was happening.

"Now its time I show you my true art!" Deidara's voice echoed. His body bubbled up to the point of ripping his clothing.

"Everyone! Get back! Quickly!" Neji shouted.

"Art is an explosion!" Deidara yelled just before his own body exploded.

The two clones of Naruto hoisted Gaara's body up, fleeing the flames with him. With one of their free hands, I was dragged along, too weak to jump away on my own. In the blink of an eye, the heat from behind us had vanished. Instead of stopping in the open area gracefully, I tumbled to a halt. My arms and legs trembled as I lifted myself up.

"What…happened?" Tenten asked, settling her gaze on a gasping Kakashi.

Kakashi coughed, shaking his head slowly. "I transported him and the explosion to another time and space."

The two clones laid Gaara on the grass before poofing away. I struggled to crawl to him, kneeling next to his body. Sakura, who gave me a faltering smile, sat on the other side of him. She pressed her palms to his chest for a few moments. We all waited in painful silence. Eventually, she shook her head, standing as tears began to brim her eyes.

"No," I whispered, allowing my head to fall onto his chest. I waited for a heartbeat that never came. Lifting my lips to the tattoo on his forehead, my tears fell into his hair. "This isn't…You weren't supposed to die, Gaara."

"Kyan," Sakura mumbled. I didn't pay any attention to her.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, GAARA!" I shouted, burying my face into his neck. "WE WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED, YOU JERK! WE WERE GOING TO BE HAPPY! THIS ISN'T HOW YOU JOKE AROUND WITH PEOPLE! PLEASE STOP IT!" I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Please," I begged, "don't leave me. I can't lose you, too. I love you. I love you so fucking much. Don't do this. I need you."

"Kyan, you need to calm down," Kakashi suggested.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I bellowed, turning to face them. Without anything else to say, I buried myself into Gaara again.

"If you Suna Shinobi had never put that monster inside him, none of this would have happened!" Naruto shouted, pointing to Chiyo. Tears of his own cascaded down his cheeks. "Did you ever consider how Gaara felt?! Did you ever even ask?! You call him a jinchuriki?! How can you decide that for someone else?!"

My breathing turned into gasping hiccups. I lifted my head to stare into the wrinkled face of Chiyo. She gave me a tired stare before lifting her hands onto his chest. "What're you…doing?" I managed to ask.

Sakura hung her head. "She's going to bring him back."


	11. Hospital Beds

_**Scroll One; Chapter Eleven:**_

_**Hospital Beds**_

"Can she really do that?" Naruto asked without hesitation. The tears that streaked down his face cleared away the dirt, but made it more apparent. He lifted his hands and wiped them with his palms.

"Granny Chiyo is the only one who can perform this jutsu," Sakura replied, her eyes sullen.

Chiyo groaned, the aura surrounding her hands shrinking. "I don't…have enough Chakra," she muttered between breaths.

"Use mine!" I offered, jutting my hands toward her. "I don't care if it kills me! Just please bring Gaara back!"

Naruto kneeled next to me, pushing my hands away. "No, use mine. I have more than you do, Kyan."

Chiyo raised her tired eyes, watching us as if expecting a joke of some sort. I agreed with Naruto, knowing full well how much Chakra he truly had. I returned my hands to Gaara's hair. It had never been so filthy before.

"Place your hands on mine," she ordered.

A pained grunt coming from his mouth, Naruto infused his Chakra with hers. The aura grew strong, but from the sweat dripping from both their heads, I could tell it was an immense strain.

"In this shinobi world created by frivolous old people, I'm glad new souls like you have come along," Chiyo managed to say. She had regulated her breathing, but I knew talking was a difficult task for her. "Until now, everything I've done has been wrong, but at the very end, I might be able to do something right."

"_The very end?"_ I mentally repeated. _"What does she mean?"_

"Sunagakure and Konohagakure," she continued. "May the future that awaits them be different from our time." Her drooping eyes met Naruto's. "You can change the world. I believe in you. You will become a Hokage like none other than before."

A breath caught in his throat as his hands began to quiver. "Granny Chiyo…"

A soft smile formed on her cracked lips. "You two…I have a favor to ask. Naruto, you are the only one who knows Gaara's pain. And Kyan, your love for him is unlike any I've experienced before. Please, both of you look after him."

"Then allow me to help, even if it isn't much," I mumbled, placing my right hand on theirs. A sensation I'd never felt before hurled itself through my body. I instantly suffered from a headache and I could sense myself growing more and more fatigued as the seconds ticked by.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to lift my heavy head. I focused Haketa's smiling face, tears falling from her skin. "I'm so proud of you," she mouthed. Only then did I realize just how many people gathered around us. Kankuro, Temari, Matsuri, and countless other Suna villagers had traveled to come to Gaara's aid.

Taking a gasping inhale, Gaara's head shot up, his eyes wide and frantic. Chiyo slouched at his side. Silence fell over everyone as he glanced around at the familiar faces. Finally, he looked to Naruto, who gave a reassuring smile. "You had us worried there for a second, Gaara," he said.

"Why…are you here?" Gaara questioned.

"Its not just me. Everyone came to help."

Suddenly, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers, cries of happiness, and thanks to the gods. Gaara's eyes settled on me and before I could control myself, I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck in hysterical sobs.

"Whoa, calm down, Kyan! You don't want to hurt him!" Temari scolded me. Unexpectedly, Gaara snaked a rigid arm around my shoulders.

From Temari's side, Kankuro gave a wavering chuckle. "You know, you caused a ton of grief, little brother," he informed.

"Don't act so superior toward him!" Temari snapped, giving him a light punch to the arm. Beside him, my sister giggled and wiped her eyes. "He's the Kazekage after all, you dumb brats." She kneeled next to Gaara and me, but I refused to look at her. One, I had an ugly crying face. Two, I couldn't bring myself to detach from his body. "How do you feel, Gaara?"

Gaara stared at her for a long while, searching for the right answer. "I feel…tired," he finally answered. His arm dropped from my side and he tried to stand. I watched in caution.

"Don't stand up so suddenly," Temari told him. "Your body hasn't fully recovered from the rigor mortis yet."

Gaara seemed to be confused, to say the least. He gazed from his sister, to the surrounding crying villagers, then to me. "Why are you here?" he asked.

"Because I…" I sniffled, wiping away my tears with my shirt. I must've seemed so pathetic. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you."

"I'LL PROTECT YOU NEXT TIME, LORD GAARA!" Matsuri's banshee voice echoed. Naruto was suddenly pushed to the side by her and another girl I'd recognized from my random walks around Suna.

"NO, I'LL PROTECT YOU!"

I grabbed at my tachi, which had been lying by my side, and stood up to face the two girls. Luckily, Temari had already beaten me to it as she stood in front of Gaara and me, holding out her arms protectively. "Why don't you two back the hell up?" she suggested darkly.

"Granny Chiyo saved him with this awesome medical ninjutsu," Naruto was heard saying to Kankuro a few feet away. It was said at the perfect time as the noise died down, so the crowd turned to him to listen.

Sakura held Chiyo in her arms not too far away. She did appear to be sleeping, but I couldn't sense any Chakra coming from her body.

"She fell asleep because you know, she's old. But I'm sure she'll be fine when she gets back to your village," Naruto said optimistically.

"No, she won't," Kankuro replied, his voice sounding deeper than usual.

Naruto stared at him in bewilderment. "What…do you mean?"

"Granny Chiyo didn't use a medical ninjutsu. It was a transference technique. She isn't sleeping, Naruto. She died." My sister returned to Kankuro's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She exchanged her life for Gaara's. There was a point in time where Suna's Puppet Master Corps was involved in the secret development of a technique that could put actual life into puppets. Granny Chiyo led that project. They were able to devise the technique, but it posed too much of a risk. It was eventually banned and sealed."

It was then that I realized that although some of the villagers were shedding tears of joy, others were expressing their grief in the same manner. They knew she had died long before we did.

I turned to Gaara, who hung his head. I didn't know what to say to him, so instead I only sat near him and grabbed onto his hand. He didn't hesitate to lock his fingers around mine.

"Naruto, you truly are different," Temari said, moving her attention away from the two girls. "You have the power to change people. Granny Chiyo always said she didn't care what happened to the village. She wasn't the kind of person who would give her life for Gaara."

"Granny Chiyo entrusted the future to you and Gaara," Kakashi added. "It was a death befitting a shinobi."

"Same as the Third Hokage," Naruto muttered. "Now I know what old Lady Chiyo wished for."

Struggling, Gaara attempted to stand again. I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, but he said, "I'm fine. Really." So, instead of arguing with him, I only kept my grasp on his hand, helping him to his feet. "Everyone," he called out, "let us pray for Granny Chiyo."

As I hung my head and closed my eyes, I pictured my father and my grandfather. They stood side-by-side in the darkness of my mind, their arms around each other's shoulders. The same idiotic grin was apparent on both their faces as they gave me a simultaneous thumbs-up.

Gaara's hand gripped tighter around mine.

()()()

"Stupid freaking hospital beds," I grumbled for the tenth time. Haketa and Sakura both sighed, shaking their heads.

"Will you knock it off?" my sister practically yelled. "You took quite a beating during this whole thing. Besides, Gaara insisted that you rest in the hospital as well."

"I think he just wanted you to suffer along with him," Sakura joked. "He isn't having the best time in his hospital room either."

I crossed my arms over my chest, looking away from the two. Sure, it made sense that Gaara spent a few days in the hospital. The kid _died_, for shit's sake. I, however, came out with only a black eye, a broken toe, and a few scrapes here and there. Okay, there was also a little internal bleeding and possibly an infection.

"So, the weirdest thing," Kankuro muttered as he opened the door. We turned to him, not even having to ask what. "Gaara's sleeping."

"What?" my sister replied. "He can't sleep."

"Well, he is. Come look, if you promise not to be creepy about it."

I struggled to place my feet on the ground. "Let me see him," I ordered. As I stood, I realized just how much bad shape I was in. My ribs burned in pain, as did my toe and my shoulders. "Its been two days. You have to let me see him." Rolling his eyes in defeat, Kankuro looped his arm around me, supporting me as we made the quick trek to Gaara's room.

As we silently opened the door, I rested my eyes on the redhead. Like his brother said, Gaara was asleep, but it wasn't the sort of peaceful sleep I'd always imaged, where he would be comfortably tucked underneath the covers, an angelic expression on his face. Instead, Gaara's limbs sprawled out in all different directions. His head tilted to the side, messy strands of hair beginning to cover his eyes. I hadn't noticed just how long his hair was getting. His mouth hung open slightly, a light snore coming from it.

"I guess it was because they took Shukaku from him," Kankuro suggested.

"Shukaku didn't let him sleep?" Sakura whispered.

"Gave him night terrors. I can still remember the nights when he did try to sleep." Kankuro shuddered and I could feel the goose bumps rise on his skin. Whatever had happened, I didn't want to know about it.

"I want to touch him," I mumbled, pushing myself from Kankuro.

"I told you not to be creepy about it, Kyan."

"I'm not!"

Slowly (because I couldn't really move at any faster of a pace), I advanced toward Gaara's bed, sitting down gently at an open spot. I watched from the corner of my eye as Sakura pushed the other two from the room, closing the door behind her.

"_I'll have to remember to thank her later,"_ I thought.

As I watched Gaara's chest rise and fall through the bandages, I wondered to myself if how my mother felt when she lost my father was the exact same way I felt when I first found out Gaara had been captured. Regret rushed over me as I pondered back to my words I shouted at her before I left home.

"_YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO BE SO WORRIED SICK AND HELPLESS!"_

My mother, more than anyone, understood it perfectly.

My sigh, although I thought it was a quiet noise, caused Gaara to stir in his sleep. He lifted his hands to his eyes, giving his own exaggerated exhale, and forced his lids to open groggily. I assumed he was awake, but he shut his eyes once more and drifted off into a much needed sleep.

Grinning to myself, I pressed my lips to his tattoo and returned to my room.

()()()

_The journey back to Suna seemed to linger on forever. I kept my pace at Naruto's side, who hoisted Gaara's weak body along with Kankuro. The entire recruitment of villagers that had come to their Kazekage's rescue formed an army behind us._

_Finally, as the gigantic sand walls came into view, I could see the remaining residents of Suna cluttered before it. As we came closer, cheers and joyous shouts echoed around us, causing our army to return with their own strident praise._

_Kankuro chuckled, his cheeks tinted rose underneath his paint. "Now, that's what I call a warm welcoming."_

"_Look at how many people there are!" Lee exclaimed._

"_Just what you'd expect for the Kazekage," Neji chimed in. _

_As if on cue, the villagers ran toward us, chanting Gaara's name. Some women cried tears of happiness and relief and children jumped up and down as they held onto one another. From the crowd, Baki stepped forward. If my vision hadn't been so hazy, I could've sworn I saw tears brimming his visible eye._

"_I'm so happy you're safe," he told Gaara._

"_Thanks to these people."_

_Baki nodded in understanding, turning his half gaze to Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, I thank you."_

"_Huh? I didn't…I mean, I hardly did anything at all," Naruto replied bashfully, looking away from the man._

"_Lord Kazekage," Baki continued, giving the biggest smile I'd ever seen him wear, "your people are waiting to welcome you home." The gathering in front of us parted into two separate clusters, giving way for us to walk into the village. "Come, lead the way."_

"_All right then," Kankuro said, "shall we go?"_

"_No, wait," Gaara said hastily. He turned his head behind us, looking toward Chiyo's body. "Not yet."_

"_You're right," I muttered as we stood off to the side. _

"_Let us honor the memory of Lady Chiyo!" Baki announced. "A moment of silence!"_

_We hung our heads as four shinobi carried her body past us, giving her first reign to the village. I closed my eyes, knowing that I could never thank her enough._

()()()

"What, you're leaving already?" Kankuro questioned as we met the two teams from Konoha in Gaara's office. "You can stay a little longer, can't you?"

I took my place next to Guy and Kakashi, who were supporting each other. I wouldn't allow myself to cry anymore, for anything. My sister watched me from her husband's side, holding in her own tears through a smile. We had already exchanged our goodbyes that morning, so there was nothing left to say.

"Yeah, can't you stay another day or two? You should still rest a little bit more," Temari frantically suggested.

"Believe me, I wish we could," Naruto answered.

"We must report back to Lady Hokage as soon as possible," Sakura added.

"Besides, if the Akatsuki managed to penetrate this far into Suna, I'm worried about our own village," Kakashi stated.

I kept my gaze on the floor in front of me. I could feel Gaara staring at me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"I understand," Baki replied, a hint of concern lingering in his voice. "Even so, your condition…"

"Don't worry, I have comrades I can reply on to get me there." Beside him, Guy smirked proudly.

Their conversation faded as sand grains tickled the inside of my palm. I glanced up, finally meeting Gaara's gaze, only to see that sly smirk he often gave me when he knew I was upset but didn't want to quite say anything about it. I tightened my fist around his sand.

"Before we go," Sakura started, "is it okay if we visit Lady Chiyo's grave?"

"I was going to suggest the same," Gaara answered, standing from behind his desk.

Our trek to the graveyard was a silent one. I walked next to Gaara and noticed that every so often, whether it be on purpose or just from our stride, our hands would bump into each other. Knowing that I was acting as a bit stupid and childish, I counted down from three in my head, grasping his hand on one. He didn't pull away like I was half-expecting him to do.

Ebizo, Chiyo's brother, stood at a lone grave. At first, he didn't notice our presence. From beside me, Sakura asked, "Is that…?"

"Lady Chiyo's resting place," Gaara finished for her.

We stood at Ebizo's side without saying another word. I blinked back my tears and as Gaara traced small circles on my skin with his thumb, I began to wonder if he knew I was trying my hardest not to cry.

"She didn't want a headstone on her grave," Ebizo informed us, raising his hand to pat the headstone that had been placed for her. "But despite her wishes, I thought it was better to have one. I felt sure that people would want a place to come to remember her."

"Everyone," Kakashi addressed, "say your farewells."

As I hung my head for Lady Chiyo for the last time, the tears spilled over. I released Gaara's hand to wipe them away, trying to quiet my sounds of awkward sobbing. Gaara wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his body.

In all honesty, I wasn't quite sure if I was crying over my grieving of Lady Chiyo and the fact that I would never have the chance to thank her for everything she did, or for the thought that I would be leaving again in a few hours. Both tore at my heart equally.

"Let's go," Guy muttered after our moment of remembrance was over.

We began to walk toward the ravine that served as the gate of the village, but stopped short when we noticed that two people were missing. Sakura and Naruto stood at the headstone, watching it as if Lady Chiyo would pop up from the ground in a fit of laughter.

"Sakura! Naruto! Let's go!" Lee called after them. Naruto nodded and returned to our group. After a while, Sakura did, too, after giving the headstone one final glance.

()()()

"'Well, so long," Kankuro told us as we gathered just outside the village walls. My sister grabbed for his hand and gave us a sad smile.

"Please be careful, everyone, and send my regards to everyone back in Konoha," she said. "Kyan, tell Mother I love her and I miss her."

"Okay," I muttered, watching Gaara and Naruto.

The uneasy feeling between the two was obvious to everyone. Naruto chuckled nervously and admitted, "I guess this is the part where people shake hands and get all choked up, but I've never really been good at that kind of stuff either, so let's just leave it at—"

He had noticed that Gaara extended his hand, and the only thought that ran through my head was how proud I was. Gaara started out as such a hateful kid who would kill anyone who breathed wrong around him to a man of honor and dignity - an absolute gentle person who teased me for the way I said "bad" like "baid" and for waking up looking like I'd travelled ten days straight.

I could tell how confused Naruto was when he continued to stand completely still, staring at Gaara as if he were trying to figure him out. Slowly, a gust of sand lifted Naruto's hand, placing it into the redhead's.

After they shook hands, my group turned and began to walk from the village. I couldn't find it in my body to go with them.

"You're going to write to me, right?" I asked as I threw myself into Gaara. I winced in slight pain as I did. My ribs were still sore.

"No," he replied simply.

I tilted my head back, staring up at him in distress and perplexity. "You're not…?"

"If I do," he started, pushing a stray cluster of hair from my eyes with his pointer finger, "it will be regarding your citizenship in Suna. And it will be to tell you to pack your things because I want you here."


	12. Kyan The Great

_**Scroll One; Chapter Twelve:**_

_**Kyan The Great**_

"I don't know about this. I mean, I wasn't even this fancied up for the wedding," I muttered, turning to look at myself in the lengthy mirror in Temari's bedroom. The dress I wore was much shorter and tighter than what I was comfortable with, but the soft lilac tint gave some light to my dark eyes. It could have been the matching eye-shadow the blonde had picked out for me, though. Either way, I felt like I didn't look anything like myself. I felt more like a doll than anything else.

"You look great," Temari complimented, running her delicate fingers through her hair to give it some volume. With an exasperated huff, she dropped her hands to her sides in defeat. "My hair, on the other hand, isn't cooperating with me at all."

I glanced out the window, watching the crowd in the street below. Children ran back and forth, sparklers lit brightly in their hands as their parents chased after them and talked amongst themselves. Drunken couples and singles stumbled around, raising their empty bottles and glasses to toast to the Kazekage's return.

"_They're just celebrating the fact that they have a reason to get drunk,"_ I thought bitterly. In all honesty, big parties like these, especially village-wide parties, made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"So, where's Gaara?" I questioned. "Or Kankuro and Haketa?"

Giving a soft shrug, Temari dropped her hair to her shoulders. "Who knows? With a celebration this big, they could be anywhere."

"I'm going to go try to find them. Good luck with you hair."

She gave a sarcastic laugh as I walked from the mansion. Part of me wanted to turn back around, wipe all the make-up from my face, close the windows and continue unpacking my things. I still had so much to do and there never seemed to be enough time in the day to finish it.

Since my move to Suna two days prior, I'd spent my time decorating my room with the things I'd brought from home. Luckily, I had Gaara's help, so most of it was finished. However, he had a nasty and annoying habit of re-reading all of the letters he'd sent me that I had brought along because, let's face it, I wasn't strong enough to get rid of them. I doubt I would ever be. They were the only thing I had when I missed him.

Among the letters, he found the various pictures that our siblings and my mother had snapped of us together. It seemed the more recent the pictures became, the closer the two of us stood or sat next to each other. There had even been one in which I had been asleep in. I had fallen asleep with my head on his shoulder and whoever had taken the picture captured it just as he was looking down at me.

"_Can I have this?"_

"_Are you kidding?! No way! I'm drooling in that picture!"_

"_So let me have it."_

"_You're going to show it to everyone!"_

Exhaling sharply, I pressed myself out onto the boisterous streets, wandering aimlessly. As much as I tried to avoid it, intoxicated villagers staggered onto me, some of them mumbling an almost incoherent, "Uh, whoa. Sorry, miss." But most of them didn't apologize.

"Hey, Kyan!" a flamboyant voice boomed from over the buzz of music. Kasaji's hand waved about frantically from the middle of a crowd until he pushed his way through. Behind him, another man stumbled out from the pushing elbows.

This man, a mountainous body with shaggy midnight hair and piercing sapphire eyes, towered high over me. His clothing was casual, yet at the same time, he looked better than most of the people who were dressed to impress. Definitely a handsome one, but redheads were more my style.

"Oh, hey," I halfheartedly greeted him. "Have you seen my sister?"

"A little while ago," he replied, blowing upward to push a stray, sweaty cluster of hair from his face. He had obviously been dancing. Smiling widely, he turned to the unknown man. "This is my sister-in-law, sort of, Kyan."

"Its nice to meet you, sister-in-law, sort of, Kyan. My name is Daichi," the man greeted, taking my hand in his to kiss the back of my palm. My first reaction was to yank my hand away, but I kept in mind that I needed to be respectful. That was one of the thousand conditions my mother gave in order for me to move to Suna.

"Um, we're not in-laws," I corrected him, shooting a soft glare to Kasaji. He was already distracted by another woman who had walked by, who creepily looked almost exactly like Temari. "His best friend is married to my sister."

"Ah, so you must be Lady Haketa's younger sister," he assumed, nodding in understanding. "Then it is definitely a pleasure to meet you, Lady Kyan."

Lady Haketa? _Lady Kyan?_

"Please, drop the 'lady.' I'm not really a fan of formalities," I told him. "Just Kyan is fine. Or Kyan the Great. That works just as well."

A deep rumble of a laugh came from Daichi's mouth. "You're a quirky one. I like that. So, Kyan the Great, would you like to go forth into this cesspool they call a party?" He held out his arm for me. Hesitantly, I allowed my eyes to wander around for Kasaji. He must've followed some girl who would ultimately reject him.

"Okay, why not?" I muttered, slipping my own arm around his. What was the harm in taking off with a man I had just met three seconds ago?

()()()

Our time together dragged on well into the night. I'd never eaten so much deep fried food or chocolate covered fruits in my entire life, but as long as Daichi kept buying them for me, I would gladly pop them into my mouth.

We had eventually passed by a popular bar with two obviously inebriated women cackling to themselves near the entrance. Their clothes showed signs of spilled food and beverages and their hair was nothing short of a rat's nest. The younger one made kissing noises toward me, her lipstick smeared nearly across her face.

"Aw, lookit you, baby girl!" she screeched. I sighed in annoyance, tightening my grip on Daichi's tree trunk of an arm.

"Let's just get away from this crap," I suggested.

"I'm just tryna have a little fun!" the woman sang off-key, grabbing onto my free hand. Her palms were damp with a cold sweat. "You look like you need a little fun, honey."

"Seriously, back up," I growled at her, jerking my hand from her grasp. She attempted to pull at me again, but Daichi swiveled his body around. Her fingers collided with his back, which she promptly decided to try and punch.

"Let's go," he urged, gently pushing on my shoulders to lead me from the two. "Do you want a drink before we go?"

I shook my head quickly, my curled hair bouncing around on my skin. "No, thank you," I replied. "I don't drink, ever."

A grateful smirk spread across his face. "I'm liking you more with every word that comes from your mouth."

()()()

"So, you live with Lord Kazekage?" Daichi asked in disbelief. I had taken him to my usual secluded spot on the lofty hill, trying to get away from all the people. Fortunately, most of the noise was quieted from so far up.

I stretched my legs out in front of me, ignoring the fact that Temari would destroy me for dirtying the dress. "For now. I'm planning on getting my own place soon."

"Do you two share a room or something? I mean, that has to get pretty awkward now that he can actually sleep."

In all honesty, and much to my dismay, I'd only slept in Gaara's bed a total of three times. One when I had been attacked by the jewelry salesmen and his friends, another when Gaara had stopped himself from taking me, and again on my first night back in Suna after the move. It had been such a strange experience to wake up only to find him still asleep next to me, wrapped in the blankets we'd been fighting over the whole night.

"I have my own room," I replied. "Gaara is too neat for me. I like my space a little messy."

Daichi yawned softly, extending his arms above his head. "Too neat for you, huh? So, I'm guessing the rumors aren't true then?"

I almost suffered whiplash from how quickly my head turned to look at him. "What rumors?" I asked a little too urgently.

"You…aren't pregnant with his kid?"

"_PREGNANT?!_" I shrieked, leaning away from him. "Hell no, man! Gaara and I aren't even…"

I stopped myself short, not quite wanting to lie to my new friend. Were Gaara and I technically "dating?" I wasn't even sure myself. Sure, that last night I had spent in his bed was one in which clothing was not involved, but nothing happened. The furthest it had gotten was his hand around mine.

"I wanted to ask how far along you were when Kasaji first introduced us," Daichi admitted, "but you didn't even look pregnant, so I just assumed you were only a month or two along. I'm a little relieved to know you aren't, though. With his, I mean."

Curiosity struck me. "You're relieved I'm not carrying Gaara's kid? What's that supposed to mean?" Sure, I may have come off as a little defensive, but I was offended.

He shrugged nonchalantly, yawning once more. I wished he would stop doing that. Fighting the urge to yawn myself was a little annoying. "All I'm saying," he answered slowly, "is that Gaara doesn't seem like he'd be a great father."

I opened my mouth to yell, but as soon as I did, my mother's face flashed in my mind. "Actually," I started with a tone much calmer than how I was feeling, "I disagree. I think Gaara would be a fantastic father. His own was the prime example of what not to be, so I'm sure he learned a thing or two from him. And you know, I'm not sure what you're basing your view of Gaara off of, but he isn't how he was before. He's actually very laid-back and he can sometimes cook well and he can be a real smart-ass at times. And every so often, he smiles."

I turned to Daichi to study his reaction, but I only became more confused when I stared at his smirk. "I was right all along," he murmured, as if he was speaking to himself.

"Um, what?"

"I wanted to see your feelings for our Kazekage. Don't get me wrong – I think he's great, too. But I didn't want to just come out and ask how you felt about him." Lacing his fingers behind his head, he laid back into the sand, rotating his ankles. They both gave a soft crack. "You're in love with Gaara."

Of course, I had admitted it to myself a long time ago, but hearing another person say it felt strange, almost as if I was realizing it for the first time. I hugged my knees to my chest, exhaustedly sighing.

"Have you let him know?" Daichi asked.

"No," I replied. "I don't know if I ever will. I mean, we were both drunk once and I sort of told him, but I don't think the message came out clearly."

"Wait, I thought you said you don't drink?"

"That night was the reason why I don't drink."

Chuckling deeply, he stood to his feet and held out a hand to lift me up. "C'mon, you little alcoholic, I think the fireworks are going to start soon."

()()()

Fireworks are apparently a tradition for all celebrations in Sunagakure. At exactly midnight, they're shot off from the roof of the Kazekage mansion. Nearly every single villager - old and young, male and female, drunk and sober – stop whatever it is that they're doing and gawk at the explosions in the night sky.

"Fireworks are so dumb," I mumbled to myself as I stood amongst the crowd, waiting for the deafening bangs.

As I stood against Daichi, my arm locked around his, I couldn't help but wish he was Gaara. I wondered where the Kazekage had been all night. I hadn't seen a trace of him, although we did manage to bump into Haketa and Kankuro. Well, not so much bump. More like watch them dance together from a distance.

As I thought back to them, Daichi's words from our journey back to the center of the village resonated in my mind and they seemed to be all I could think about.

"_You know, Kyan, I don't know hardly anything about you, but from my experience in life, I'd say you should tell Gaara how you feel. You never know when you won't have the chance to."_

I understood what he meant all too well. I never got the chance to say goodbye or thank my father and grandfather. Even though I tried my hardest not to, I still beat myself up over it. It was something that came along with the everlasting guilt of not being able to save either of them.

Thunderous cracks and pops echoed around us as the village fell into a chorus of excited gasping and laughter. The sky lit up with haphazard symphonies of colors, and as I tilted my head back to watch them, my head locked on a scene in a nearby bar.

"Gaara?"

Although my voice was covered by the fireworks, Daichi heard me loud and clear. He followed my gaze, frowning to himself. "Isn't that Gaara's old student?" he questioned, jutting his chin in Matsuri's direction.

My only response was a slow nod. I couldn't look away from the two. Although they weren't touching, they sat extremely close to each other on a nearby bench, involved in a serious conversation. As Matsuri chattered about, Gaara watched her intently, bowing his head up and down to give affirmation that he was listening. My heart shattered when their hands brushed and they both froze. Another firework lit up the sky, showing the crimson tints on their cheeks.

Daichi snaked an arm across my shoulders, pulling me toward his bulky body. "C'mon, I'll take you home, Kyan the Great."

()()()

I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned in my bed, watching as the clock read 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, and then suddenly, it was 5 o'clock in the morning. From underneath my blanket cocoon, I heard the front door open and slam shut, rustling from the kitchen, and then finally, Gaara's bedroom door close from down the hallway.

My eyes burned with exhaustion and tears. I couldn't describe how stupid I felt crying over a boy, but I did. I cried even before Daichi returned me to the mansion. He told me he knew how I felt, that he had once watched his ex-girlfriend walk away with her hand in another man's.

This was different, though. Gaara wasn't my boyfriend, so in all actuality, I had no true reason to be so upset. Other than the fact that I loved him and couldn't stand to watch him be so close to Matsuri.

I stood from my bed, rubbing my eyes with the backs of my hands. The lone picture on my nightstand caught my attention. It was the one that was secretly taken at my sister's wedding. Gaara and I had gotten lost in our lazy dancing and someone thought it was a great idea to capture that moment forever. Of course, that someone was Kasaji, who framed it and gave it to me as a "mansion-warming" gift.

I turned it down on the surface, covering the image that made me feel more beautiful than I ever have before in my life.

My stomach grumbled painfully as I searched the fridge for food. Although I was voracious, nothing seemed appealing. Giving up, I began to make the trek back to my room.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

I dragged my gaze from the floor in front of me to the shirtless redhead who had stopped me in my tracks. Gaara's hair dripped with water, which landed onto his shoulders and chest and slipped down his skin. Honestly, I was just too tired to handle him, so I maneuvered around him, closing my bedroom door behind me. I greeted my bed with a sluggish flop, but sleep didn't have the chance to overtake me before my door opened again.

"What's wrong?" Gaara demanded to know, leaning against the doorframe.

"Long night," I answered simply, crawling underneath the blankets. "Could you shut the door behind you when you leave?" I pressed my eyes shut tightly, hoping he would just leave before the tears came again. Instead, he sighed loudly, standing his ground.

"Again, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied, trying to keep my voice from cracking. "I just want to sleep."

Its such a funny and strange thing how sometimes physical pain is a lot less hellish than emotional pain. I was able to withstand Deidara's powerful kick, burns from stovetops, and punches during my training with Lady Tsunade without a single tear, but for some unknown reason, seeing Gaara and Matsuri together hurt more than any of that could ever have.

"Kyan." Gaara's voice wasn't angry. It was more of a mix of concern and worry, but it changed within moments. "Did your new boyfriend dump you already?"

I shot up from the bed, giving him a expression of confusion, hurt, and ire. I'm sure my hair was all over the place and my eyes were red and puffy, but I didn't care. "My…boyfriend?" I repeated slowly. "What the _fuck_ are you talking about?"

"Kasaji's friend."

I groaned and shook my head. "Daichi? He's not my boyfriend, man. He's just a friend. And what was going on with you and Matsuri?"

His eyes widened for a split second. "Matsuri? Absolutely nothing. She wanted to speak of her progress with me."

I rolled my eyes, settling myself back into my shield of blankets. I just wanted him to leave me alone for the time being. "Okay, I don't have a reason to be upset," I muttered as a reminder to myself.

Next to me, the bed caved in. I didn't bother scooting over to make room for Gaara, so he huffed and gently pushed me to the other side. "But you are upset," he confirmed, lifting the blanket from my face.

Knowing it was a childish thing to do, I rolled over, turning my back to him. "Daichi is not my boyfriend," I repeated.

"Okay, I believe you."

"No you don't."

"How can you tell?"

I turned my head slightly to glance at him. "When you lie, you strain your voice. It almost sounds like saying it is killing you."

Gaara's mouth formed into a hard line. It only proved that he didn't believe me, but then again, thinking back on it, the way I held onto Daichi did come across as something a little more affectionate than just a harmless friendship.

I sat up, twisting my body to face him. "Look," I started, "I've never had a boyfriend, okay?" I longed for the courage of alcohol, but that came along with the taste. I wasn't willing to try that again. "I can't focus on anyone else."

"Anyone else?" Gaara inquired, leaning back against my headboard.

I took a deep breath in and slowly released it. "Okay, um," I muttered, "you. I can't focus on anyone else but you. And honestly, this would be so much easier to do if I were drunk."

"_I'd say you should tell Gaara how you feel. You never know when you won't have the chance to."_

"I love you," I blurted. I could feel my heartbeat in every single part of my body. "I am _in love_ with you, Gaara. I would follow you to the end of the world. I would face freaky fish-faced and girly blond Akatsuki members for you. I would do absolutely anything for you if it meant I could be by your side. I don't want anyone else, man."

Gaara stared at me for a very long time, probably waiting for a, "Just kidding!" or something along those lines. But when I made it certain that I wasn't joking, he finally blinked and glanced away from me.

Just when I prepared myself for rejection, he whispered, "Do you need me?"

"I wouldn't have risked my life for you if I didn't."

And that was all it took. The rest was somewhat of a blur, so trying to remember all of it is a little difficult. His lips formed perfectly against mine as his trembling hands lifted my shirt from my body. His skin felt warm and comforting against my palms. The way his back arched when I ran my fingers through his hair and the soft groans coming from his mouth sent butterflies rampant in my stomach. When I braced myself for pain, I found that it didn't show its ugly face. Instead, more pleasure than I could have ever thought possible took its place.

I finally understood why people enjoyed sex with someone they loved.


	13. If You Could See Me Now

_**Scroll One; Chapter Thirteen:**_

_**If You Could See Me Now**_

I'm not sure if the word "majestic" could've been accurately used. Something more along the lines of pulchritudinous or lustrous would have done him justice, but who uses words like that? I'll tell you who. Someone who has the opportunity to wander in and out of sleep with Gaara. That's who.

I watched his chest rise and fall in sync with his soft breaths. Through the curtains that we had yanked shut, the sun began to peek out from over the walls of the village and into the bedroom through the tiny slits. Although he had been asleep for an hour or two, I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes long enough to escape consciousness with him.

Rolling to my side, I glanced at the clock. Almost seven in the morning. Two hours since my ultimate heartbreak and one since the best thing I could have ever experienced.

Now, I'm sure you're expecting me to go into detail. Not only for my privacy, but for Gaara's as well, I won't. But rest easy knowing that between the muffled moans and my awkward giggling because someone had almost fallen off the bed, I had confirmed my decision of sticking by his side for the rest of my life. As long as he wanted me, of course.

Gaara exhaled deeply and rolled over, his chest pressing warmly against my back. I could feel his breath in my hair, right next to my ear. Goosebumps rose on my legs and arms, but I knew if I shivered, it would wake him up. And I knew better than to wake him up before he willing.

()()()

"_Whoa," Temari muttered, settling her gaze on her younger brother. Gaara, who had been forcefully woken up by my accidental door slamming, narrowed his eyes at her. The back of his hair stuck up even more than it usually did, poking out in every direction. He didn't look fully awake. He seemed more like a zombie than a human._

"_What?" he demanded to know._

"_You, uh," I started, searching for the correct words to use in this situation. I pursed my lips together tightly, stretching my legs out in front of me on the floor. "You look a little hungover. Were you drinking last night?"_

"_Wow, Kyan," Gaara muttered dryly, making his way to the kitchen. "You are so funny. I can't believe how funny you are. You should be a comedian because, wow, you are a natural."_

"_Y'know, Gaara, talking in monotone doesn't make it convincing!" I shouted after him. _

_Beside me, Temari sighed and shook her head, pulling her hair into her usual four ponytails. "I'm beginning to think he's regretting letting you permanently move in."_

()()()

"Well, good morning, sunshine," my sister greeted me as I made my way into the living room after using the bathroom. Haketa looked unusually perky - a wide smile planted securely on her face as she gave my shirt and shorts a simple glance over.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned. I opened the fridge, searching desperately for any food I didn't have to prepare. "And where's your make-up loving husband?"

She rolled her eyes, taking a seat at the table. "Kankuro is still sleeping at home. He got a little too carried away with his drinking last night. So, did you have fun?"

The search for food was becoming intense. I couldn't find anything that involved a microwave to cook and that was reasonably unhealthy. Since Kankuro and Haketa's move into their own place, Temari had been on a healthy eating kick. The kitchen was filled with fruits, vegetables, and lean meat – nothing I particularly wanted to eat.

"Oh, yeah," I answered. My voice sounded distant, so I half-expected her to scold me for not paying attention to her.

"So, uh," Haketa whispered awkwardly, glancing toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. "Since when do you wear Gaara's clothes?"

I hadn't even realized it, but when I glimpsed down at what I was wearing, I found she was right. I had slipped on what Gaara had been wearing before everything happened. Well, I wasn't expecting to run into my sister. Before I could think of some lame excuse, she gave me a familiar smile that told me I wasn't in trouble. She usually did this when I broke something back at home and she wanted me to know she wouldn't tell our mother or grandfather.

"I knew this would happen eventually," she admitted, wrapping a random strand of hair around her middle and pointer fingers. "Don't worry – your secret is safe with me, but you know Temari and Kankuro are going to find out. And being the protective sister she is, Temari is going to freak out."

"How do you know?"

She shrugged. "As another older sister, I can understand where she would be coming from, if she did go crazy. Kankuro had brought this up once. He mentioned that you two were becoming even more close than usual and said that this could happen. To be honest, I panicked because well…its Gaara."

I opened my mouth and before I could control my volume, I shouted, "Haketa, you should know more than anyone how much he's chang—"

The second she held up a hand, I closed my mouth. It was something our mother had drilled into our brains at a young age. If the hand came up, it would be wise to shut up before it hit your mouth.

"Will you calm down and let me finish?" she asked tiredly. "I know how much he's changed and I've watched how you two have changed with each other. That's why I'm not angry."

I watched my sister for a long while. Usually, she had a pretty short tempter. It was a trait we had both inherited from our father. However, as I stared at her face – the way her nose turned up into a sharp point and her high cheekbones – and waited for an explosion of anger, I realized that the more she aged, the more she was becoming the exact image of our mother: kind, patient, generous.

And suddenly, I found myself feeling painfully jealous.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Haketa remarked, turning her gaze to the disheveled redhead who had finally awoken.

"Good morning, Haketa," Gaara greeted politely, then to me, "So you're stealing my clothes now?"

I could feel the deep frown form on my face. "I was borrowing them," I defended, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.

Haketa rose from her chair, setting the coffee cup she had been drinking from into the sink. Gaara watched her with a hint of disgust written on his face. Since his sleeping schedule hadn't been set in stone quite yet, Temari had introduced him to coffee to try to help. She had filled a cup with the brown liquid, but the second the stuff touched Gaara's tongue, he proceeded to throw his head into the sink and spit it out.

"_C'mon, Gaara, it isn't that bad."_

"_That's what I imagine shit to taste like, Temari. Its horrible."_

And so he ultimately decided to settle for tea with high caffeine content.

"Well, I was hoping that Temari would be awake," my sister remarked, "but I don't think she will be for a while, so I'll stop by later." As she turned to the door, her dark eyes shifted to me. "And little sister, if you need condoms, let me know."

"GET OUT!" I screeched, shoving her petite frame out into the hot desert air.

My face warm, I twisted my body toward Gaara. "What was that about?" he questioned, giving me an accusing glower.

"Oh, nothing," I lied, searching for any excuse that sounded even a tiny bit believable. "We were just talking about her and Kankuro's sex life. Y'know, nothing you'd want to listen to."

"You told her."

A surge of panic swept through me as I waved my arms about, shaking my head. "Of course not! Really, it was just that girl-talk crap!"

He sighed as he headed back for the bedroom. "You talk fast when you lie."

I followed close behind him and once the door was closed, I lifted his shirt over my head. "She just sort of assumed," I told him. "This isn't something I plan on going around telling the whole village."

Gaara took the shirt from my hands, tossing into onto the bed. "I hope not," he replied. "Becau—"

"I know, I know," I muttered, searching for my own clothes as I ridded myself of the shorts. "Because if people were to find out, they would look down on you as Kazekage because they'll assume you're just another teenage boy who sleeps around with every girl he meets just because he can. I know, Gaara. You really don't have to tell me."

My body froze when Gaara's chest was suddenly pressed against my bare back. "You need to stop assuming things," he muttered in my ear. "I don't want you to spread it around for not my sake, but yours. You'd be a target to people worse than Matsuri."

A shiver erupted through my body when his lips were pressed to my neck.

()()()

"_Kyan, didn't your sister date one of those Suna guys?" Naruto demanded to know as we made our way toward the border of Sunagakure and Konohagakure. Just as much as Haketa didn't like the whole incident to be brought up, I didn't either. It was something we both wanted to forget and leave in the past, but it seemed as long as there were people around who witnessed it, it would forever be a topic of conversation._

"_Drop it, Naruto," Sasuke muttered darkly from behind us._

"_Yeah, really," Sakura added. "I don't think Kyan really wants to talk about it."_

"_I-I don't," I replied. Besides, talking about anything made me nervous. Four months into my speech therapy and I still got made fun of for my stutter._

"_This mission has nothing to do with Kankuro and Haketa," Kakashi scolded. "This is a chance to gain respect and trust with our allies and it'll make our jobs easier."_

_This mission was the definition of a joke. I was thrown into it simply as a request from my mother. The elders had originally tossed out the idea of Team 7 bringing me along, but eventually decided if I were to continue my long-forgotten training, I would have to start up again somewhere. Luckily, this mission popped up just in time._

_We came across a broken bridge that looked as if the rest of it would crumble to pieces at any second. A calm river flowed between the two pieces of rubble._

"_I win!" Naruto called out, who had decided to start a race with us. Nobody but Sakura really cared to be first place, so when Kakashi, Sasuke, and I caught up, the blond was dancing around her annoyingly._

"_This should be our rendezvous point," Kakashi pointed out, glancing around lazily. "I guess they aren't here yet."_

"_Of course they aren't," Naruto answered, rolling his eyes. "What do you expect from a bunch of assholes like that? You can never really tell what those dicks from Suna are thinking. Hey, Kyan, didn't that make-up freak keep the attack from your sister that whole time? Is it true they fuc-"_

"_SHUT UP!" I screamed, kicking a rock right into his forehead. He yelped in pain, rubbing his skin forcefully to rid himself of the enflamed bump._

"_Right on time," I heard Sasuke whisper to himself as a blur of crimson hair made itself apparent from behind Naruto._

"_I'm sorry if we've kept you waiting."_

_My eyes settled on Gaara, who had changed drastically since the attack on Konoha. As a given, his hair was longer and he was a bit taller, but there was more to it. His eyes didn't narrow in disgust as he watched us. He still looked angry, but not as much as the last time I saw him. _

_An awkward silence fell over all of us, until Kakashi glanced around and muttered, "Uh, not to worry, Gaara. You did just fine. We got here a little early, that's all."_

_Gaara closed his eyes and smirked to himself. Not the creepy smirk I was used to when he was about to destroy someone. This was a genuine, relieved expression. And almost instantly, my stomach was sent into a tornado of butterflies. _

_Two other men, who had been wading through the water with objects that resembled boxes held over their heads, made their way toward us with nervous laughter. "Pardon us!" they called. "Looks like we owe all of you an apology!"_

"_We kept you waiting," Gaara added as he bowed his head. "We're sorry."_

"_Wh-What the h-h-hell?" I whispered mostly to myself. I'm sure everyone heard, though._

_Gaara, apologizing? What kind of screwed-up world had we fallen into?_

_Without warning, Naruto picked up the rock I had kicked at him and chucked it at Gaara. A wave of sand lifted to protect him, allowing the rock to fall onto the ground. Sakura, Sasuke, and I readied ourselves to fight. We expected Gaara to go crazy and attack us, but he just stood in silence and watched as Kakashi yanked on Naruto's ear. _

"_Well?" Kakashi asked through his student's pained groans. "What was that about?"_

_As I listened to Naruto try to defend himself, my eyes shifted to Gaara. The two men who were behind him had fled, but I wasn't focused on trying to figure out where they went. Instead, I watched as Gaara's right hand lifted to give me a small wave._

_My body felt numb as I returned the gesture. _

()()()

Instead of the sun waking me up this time, it was Gaara. Although he tried his hardest to minimalize his movements as he stood from the bed, I still stirred awake, pulling the blankets over my bare body.

"Where are you going?" I asked sleepily. I was beginning to feel sore, so stretching my legs out caused me to wince in pain.

"The elders already look down on me," Gaara replied, fishing around for clothing as he ran his hand through his messy hair. "If I don't start being productive soon, it won't help my case. I also need to work on your citizenship progress."

I burrowed my face into my pillow, which was beginning to smell less and less like my own hair and more like his. His words brought dread to my heart. More than anything, I wanted him to stay in bed with me, drifting in and out of sleep and having sex when we were awake.

I heard more shuffling and then, I felt his hand placed gently on my head. I turned my face, allowing his lips to press hard against mine. I resisted the urge to pull him under the blankets with me, yank off his clothes, and lose ourselves in each other. Before I had the chance to, however, he was gone.

()()()

The next day came in the blink of an eye. Gaara didn't return home that night, which was normal for him. He would stay awake for three or four days at a time, then crash for hours upon hours once his body hit his bed.

The one thing that didn't seem normal, though, was my summons to the elders and Lord Kazekage himself.

Temari, Haketa, and Kankuro followed me to the enormous building and when curious eyes settled on my body, my nerves went haywire. I wasn't sure why exactly I had been called to meet the most important people in the village, but part of me presumed I had done something wrong and was being sent back to Konoha. Maybe they had found out about Gaara and me? What if I was being shipped back to my mother and he was being stripped of his position and ostracized from the village?

"Calm down, Kyan," Temari whispered as she stared ahead at the oversized doors before us.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked in a panic.

"I doubt it," Kankuro chimed in.

"Just go. We'll be right there with you," my sister added.

The three of them had to physically force me through the doors with rough pushes to my back. Once we entered, seven different pairs of eyes around a semi-circular table locked on me, not including the four bodyguards positioned at each end of the room. Did they really think I was going to attack them?

From the middle of the table, Gaara gave me a hidden, reassuring smirk. It made me feel a little better, but I still wanted to turn on my heel and sprint out of the room.

"Chikaku Kyan," an older man's voice echoed throughout the room.

"L-Look," I replied, holding up my hands in defense. "Whatever I did, I-I'm sorry, okay? I have m-money, so I can pay if I broke something!"

The room fell into a series of uneasy and confused peeks at others. It took a few moments for Gaara to clear his throat, stand from his seat, and address me.

"Chikaku Kyan," he repeated. The way he said it sounded strange, almost as if he was saying my name for the very first time. "You have proven yourself a worthy kunoichi, a trustworthy ally, and respectable citizen of Konohagakure. As the Kazekage of Sunagakure, along with the elders, we are honored to present you with a Sunagakure hitai-ate and congratulate you on your Sungakaure citizenship."

I'm pretty sure the way my mouth fell open looked insanely stupid. My feet felt glued to the floor. Even though I knew this was something that would happen someday, I wasn't expecting it so soon. Tired of waiting for me to advance toward him, Gaara came to me, my new black-cloth hitai-ate held securely in his hands. Gently, he lifted it to my forehead, tightening it just enough so that it wouldn't fall to the ground.

As he lowered his hands, he held my face within them for a short second and whispered, "Congrats." I half-expected him to kiss me, but when the room erupted into clapping, I remembered that this probably wasn't the place for that.

I reached up, feeling the cool metal on my fingertips. A Sunagakure kunoichi.

I knew without a doubt that my father would have been proud.


	14. Teardrop

**_Scroll One; Chapter Fourteen:_**

**_Teardrop_**

I woke in a cold sweat, which was an incredibly odd sensation as the damp air of Kirigakure settled on the damp particles. Lifting the thin blanket to wipe my face, I squinted my eyes in the dark room. I could vaguely make out Haketa's figure curled next to a larger one I could only identify as Kankuro. There was one body I was searching for in particular, though. The only one that seemed to be missing.

The wood beneath my feet as I stood made me want to nestle myself back into the makeshift bed and hide away from the bitter air. This was something entirely new to me. Sure, it had snowed and rained back in Konohagakure plenty of times and Sunagakure even had its share of precipitation once in a blue moon, but this was something completely different. The way my toes felt as if they were so frozen that they would shatter at any moment and the constant sight of my breath was uncomfortable, to say the least. It made me miss the blazing heat of the desert and the humid air of the forest.

The hotel that had been provided to us was nothing more than an old house with a desk inserted into the downstairs living room. Although Kiri's economy had been on the rise lately, the frail village still showed signs of poverty. Homeless families continued to wander the streets, begging for spare money and food. The buildings still gave the impression of decay. Even the sky seemed gloomy as smog filled it. I even wondered if the air was healthy enough to breathe in.

Long story short: this would definitely not be the place I would pick to expand the restaurant business. But per my mother, who requested this mission of us, insisted on it.

The dark streets, illuminated faintly by flickering streetlamps, seemed abandoned. Trash cluttered the concrete and dirt pathways, stray dogs and cats roamed wild, and an uneasy silence settled over the village. Even though it was early in the morning – early enough that even the sun wasn't ready to wake up – I still expected people to show their faces.

The rundown building that Haketa had picked for our restaurant stood before me pathetically. The windows had been assaulted with rocks, leaving dangerous shards of glass in random places inside. The roofing surely needed work; shingles hung loosely and some were even missing. The hinges of the door looked rusted and fragile. I was sure that if I tapped it hard enough, the entire entrance would crumble at my feet.

"This is it, hm?" a deep voice questioned from behind me. I pulled my jacket in closer to my body, nodding without facing him.

"I guess so. A giant piece of junk, if you ask me," I answered, nudging a loose brick with my foot. "I hope it doesn't fall apart and crash in on us."

Gaara placed his hands on the windowsill, peering in through the shattered glass. His cheeks, usually a soft cream color, were tinted pink. As he exhaled, a white cloud of air appeared before his lips. Every now and then, I could hear a faint sniffle from his nose. He had even double-layered on his clothing, which I never thought I would see. Living in the desert, putting on more clothes was a death-wish.

"It doesn't look too bad inside," he commented, vaulting himself carefully through the window.

"Gaara, I don't think we're supposed to go in yet!" I whispered urgently, listening to the crush of glass underneath his shoes. Nibbling on the inside of my cheek, I glanced around nervously, hoping nobody was watching.

When he didn't reply, I sighed worriedly. The last thing we needed was to get into trouble in a village we'd never been to before. Not only would my mother destroy us for ruining her chances of expanding her life's work, but Temari, who had been left back in Sunagakure, would never let any of us live it down.

This was supposed to be a simple escort mission. Get my sister to Kirigakure, sign the lease for the building, sit through the hiring process, leave. Being charged for breaking and entering was not part of the plan.

"I don't think it will look good if the Kazekage becomes a criminal!" I hissed a tad louder into the dark structure.

Gaara's huff of annoyance was the only noise I could hear before the sounds of construction echoed from somewhere far off in the village. "Nobody is going to be a criminal," he responded, sliding a piece of charred wood to the side with his foot. "Why have you been so worried about everything lately?"

"_Worried about everything?"_ I repeated to myself. _"I have? I hadn't even noticed…"_

"I'm not," I retorted, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.

"You have," Gaara said, his voice stern. He ran his palm across a table surface, inspected whatever dust he had collected on his skin, then wiped his hand across his pant leg. "Since the day you became a Suna citizen, you've been high-strung and tense. You've barely given me smartass answers when I ask you how your day was or what you're cooking."

Maybe he was right. Actually, he was. There was no "maybe" about it.

"I guess," I started, searching for the right words. My cheek was becoming sore, so I switched my nibbling to the other side. "I guess its just because I don't want to disappoint you."

Gaara stopped inspecting the ruins and turned his head just enough to settle his eyes on me. "Disappoint me? I don't understand."

I shuffled my feet nervously. "People look up to you, you know? I mean, they idolize you. I just don't want to be that village transfer who screws up that image for you."

Before I could speak my mind anymore, Gaara's hand extended through the window toward me. Without hesitation, I slipped my own into it, noting how warm his skin felt against mine, and allowed him to gently pull me into the building. My lungs immediately craved for cleaner air and the floating dust irritated my eyes.

The cold sensation that had been lingering throughout my body since the moment I woke up quickly disappeared as Gaara's arms wrapped securely around me. I buried my face into the layers of clothes, searching for his heartbeat. His warm breath in my hair sent shivers up my spine and goose bumps on my arms.

"I truly do wish you would give yourself more credit," he muttered against me. "There isn't a single thing you could do that would disappoint me."

Even though he held the utmost confidence in his words, I couldn't believe them as much as he did.

()()()

"So? How does it look?" Haketa questioned the second Gaara and I returned to the hotel room. She had woken up only seconds before we entered the room, but Kankuro continued to snore peacefully beside her.

"It needs a lot of work," I answered, settling myself back into the bed I slept on the night before. My eyes followed Gaara as he lounged on his own on the opposite side of the diminutive room the four of us had been sharing since the morning before. Although my sister was fully aware of our "situation," Kankuro still remained oblivious. He had a small suspicion, but instead of delving into his brother's personal life, he shrugged it off. We hoped it would continue to stay that way until things were a little less complicated.

"I figured it would," she replied, running a hand through her disheveled hair. "This whole village needs work."

As my sister began to ramble on about her vision for the restaurant, I could've sworn her face was slowly transforming into our mother's. So, instead of focusing on how creeped out I was by it, I nodded in feign acknowledgement as my eyes shifted to Gaara.

He had discovered a book – probably some sort of religious one – and opened it on his knee. However, instead of reading it, the young Kazekage had propped his head up with his hand and slowly allowed his eyelids to droop until finally, he had escaped consciousness. The sound of the book falling onto the floor below caused Haketa's mouth to stop running.

Before I had the chance to wake him up, she stopped me. "The kid has barely slept in sixteen years," she whispered, moving the book onto a nearby table. "Let's just leave him be for now."

()()()

"You guys went _inside_?!" Haketa screeched, pointing to the window where Gaara had decided to jump through only a few hours before. Nothing about the building had changed in the short time we'd been away, but my sister was furious.

"It wasn't my idea," I defended, holding my palms toward her. "Gaara di—"

"I don't care whose idea it was! We aren't supposed to enter until Mother gets here, Kyan! For shit's sake, this isn't even my building!"

I pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. Her high-pitched voice was giving me a headache just above my left eye. "Okay," I sighed, nodding in agreement with her. "We shouldn't have done that. I get it. We were just curious about it, you know?"

She placed her hands tightly on her hips and stared at the rundown piece of crap in front of us. "What does it look like on the inside?" she muttered after a few seconds of painful tension.

I smirked, hopping over the broken glass just as Gaara had. "I can show you the world!" I sang horribly off-key as I held my hand toward her. "Shining, shimmering—"

"Holy crap, this place is a dump," she interrupted once she jumped to my side. Her dark eyes scanned over the shattered glass and wood in disappointment. What had she been expecting? This place was left alone for years before we finally got ahold of it.

I began my own exploration, making note of the possible shelf spaces and cabinets that could be installed. After a moment, I had to forcibly silence my thoughts. I was thinking too much like my mother and sister.

"Think she'll like it?" I questioned, opening one of the drawers. Something sticky had fallen onto the hinges and dried long ago, so wrestling it took a little bit of effort. A putrid stench instantly filled my nose and as I shoved it closed again, I fought the urge to throw up my pathetic breakfast.

"No," Haketa answered honestly. Her voice sounded distant. "But look at what I just found."

Instead of looking directly at her, my eyes settled on a necklace that dangled from her fingers. The chain was a plain black cord, but the brilliant sapphire teardrop-shaped gem that inhabited the middle twisted beautifully. As I moved closer to her, I carefully touched it with my fingertips, thinking it would shatter at any moment. What was something so gorgeous doing in such a shabby place?

"Maybe we should take this to the Mizukage?" I suggested, coercing myself into my Kunoichi mindset. "I'm sure someone is missing it."

She shook her head, giving me a mature grin. "No way," she replied. As she slipped the necklace over my head, she took a step back and nodded to herself. "This thing has probably been here for months or even years. If they really missed it, they would've searched this place. Besides, it looks great on you. Makes your eyes stick out."

I rolled my eyes, turning from her. "We have the same eye color, you know. You should take it. I don't really like flashy stuff like this anyway." That was an absolute lie, to tell the truth.

"Take it. Think of it as a congratulatory gift from your older sister."

"What're you congratulating me on?"

"Your first love."

The teardrop felt frozen between my fingers.

()()()

"So does he just sleep the day away?" I asked Haketa when we arrived back to the hotel. It was just past noon and Kankuro still hadn't moved from the bed.

"Usually. Does he?" she replied, jutting her chin toward Gaara's figure. The both of them had somehow wrapped themselves in cocoons of blankets. The only difference between the two was the color of hair that poked out from the tops.

"Usually," I answered.

For the next two hours, my sister and I occupied ourselves by exploring the great indoors. The hotel rooms in Kiri were much different from those in Konoha and Suna. It seemed that no matter how tightly we shut the windows or how many layers of clothing we piled on, warmth did not find us. The brothers remained dead asleep. Neither of them moved once.

"Okay, this is ridiculous," Haketa finally decided. She stood from the floor and grabbed the blankets that covered her husband's body.

Just before she lifted them, our door opened. Gaara and Kankuro stood in the doorway, instantly looking toward the two lumps that hid on our beds. Confusion filled my head. If they were awake and standing there, then who was under the blankets?

What happened next comes back in a blur. The two brothers wasted no time yanking my sister and me into the hallway and away from the bedroom. Shouts filled the building as quickly as Gaara's sand did. I remember the look on an armed man's face as Kankuro held him against the wall, delivering a tight fist into his mouth.

My sister's scream was next. Before I could realize that it was hers, someone had grabbed her and escaped through a hole that had been blown in through the roof. I pushed my way past Kankuro and the man and reached for my tachi, which should have never left my side to begin with.

Once I had found my way onto the roof, I frantically searched for the man who had kidnapped Haketa. I couldn't see through the dense mist that had suddenly settled over the village, but I could hear her shouts of insults. She was doing it on purpose to lure me.

"I'm coming," I whispered, launching myself toward her voice. The further I traveled, the more solid the unwelcoming haze became. I felt as if my lungs were filling with it. Once sharp pain spread throughout my chest, I knew it wasn't a normal mist.

My legs seemed to suddenly come to a halt on their own. Whatever was in the air was spreading throughout my body. My sister's screams eventually faded.

"Haketa!" I screamed out, searching around hysterically. I couldn't tell where I was, so all I could do was call out her name. Every time I inhaled to ready a shout, though, my lungs burned. Excruciating coughs escaped my lips. When I took my hand from my mouth, I stared at dark blood.

A thick fabric was forcibly pressed to my face. I struggled against it at first, but when I heard Gaara's voice, I instantly calmed. "Breathe," he ordered through a cloth mask of his own. I took it in my own hands, doing as he told me. I cautiously took deep breaths, trying to make up for the ones I couldn't take before.

"Its poison mist," Kankuro informed me, his trembling figure appearing from seemingly out of nowhere. He was angry. There was absolutely no doubt about it. The low tone of his voice and the white color of his clenched fists gave that he was going to explode in rage any minute.

"Do you know of any reason why someone would want to take Haketa?" Gaara asked me. I couldn't think. There were too many thoughts racing through my mind. Eventually, he grabbed my shoulders roughly. "Kyan, focus. Why would someone want her?"

Nothing instantly popped into my head. Suddenly, the necklace felt as if it weighed two tons.

"Oh, shit."


	15. Role Model

_**Scroll One; Chapter Fifteen:**_

_**Role Model**_

"This is your fault, Kyan!" Kankuro's finger nearly poked into my nose. I made a mental note that the second he touched me, I would break it off. "If you hadn't have taken that ugly piece of shit, they wouldn't have come after Haketa!"

"My fault?!" I screeched, slapping his hand away from my face. "Don't pin this off on me, you asshole! It was _her_ idea to make me wear it!"

"Knowing you, you probably stole it from someone else!"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

Our arguing had been going on for a solid half hour. I admit; I said some things I probably shouldn't have during that time. Maybe calling him a "lying, traitorous piece of shit" wasn't helping anything, but at the time, it felt necessary. In my defense, though, the words "worthless little bitch" were flung at me. I was sure the entire hotel was aware of our yelling, but I didn't care.

From the bed, Gaara cupped his chin in his palms, staring at us with an expression of obvious annoyance written on his face. The entire time we'd been bickering, he remained silent. Finally, he stood and faced us. As if we had rehearsed it, Kankuro and I quit threatening each other.

"Are you two going to have any rational thoughts now or am I going to have to do that part?" Gaara asked, his voice completely monotone. The question did not help to calm me.

"You're going to start in on this, too?" I snapped as I placed my hands tightly on my hips. It was a gesture that always made me feel bigger when it was clear that I was more petite and insignificant than everyone else around me. "Its not like I can't think clearly, Gaara. I know what's going on. My fucking sister was kidnapped and all Kankuro wants to do is yell at me."

Gaara shrugged nonchalantly, throwing his hands up. "All right. Give me your plan, Kyan," he instructed. "Or you, Kankuro. Either one of you. Go ahead."

My eyes flashed to meet Kankuro's. He stared me down for a moment before giving a small sigh of defeat. "Okay," he muttered. "You're right. I know you already have a plan, Gaara, so let's hear it."

Placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, the redhead turned to me. "Kyan, are you willing to hear me out, or do you need to yell some more?"

My body felt tight with painful anger. There were so many things I wanted to do – punch Kankuro straight in the nose, dash from the hotel and find my sister on my own, cry onto Gaara's clothes – but I knew my emotions were delaying our newfound rescue mission.

"_You're a Kunoichi now, Kyan,_" I thought. _"You need to start thinking like one."_

"All right," I slurred, avoiding his demanding gaze. "What're we going to do?"

()()()

When I found myself in crappy situations, I would often think of what my father would do if he were in my shoes. Often times, I pictured him rushing into trouble with a smug smile planted securely on his face. That was something I admired about him: no matter what he did, he gave his best and then some. Even if he knew he was wrong, he still stuck with his decision. It was almost as if he was his own best friend.

That's why I stuck with Gaara, even though it was the stupidest plan I'd ever heard.

"This is so dumb," I whispered harshly, pushing my boobs into a perky dress. As I stared down at my chest, I noticed how much cleavage I had if I tried hard enough. The necklace only accentuated it, which was what Gaara was going for, I suppose.

"If you have a better idea, please voice it," Gaara replied, throwing me a soft glare before returning his gaze to my body. I could hear Kankuro tapping his foot anxiously outside the hotel room door. It only heightened my own feelings of dread.

"I just hope this works because—Ow, Gaara, shit! Boobs are sensitive on girls," I scolded, turning from him. It wasn't that he hurt me or anything. It was the fact that was basically fondling me and it made me want to rip the dress off along with his clothes. Okay, maybe "fondling" isn't the correct word. "Adjusting" is more fitting.

"They look better," he remarked. I wasn't sure if I should've been offended or if I should have taken it as a compliment, but before I could decide, he stammered out, "I mean, they always look good. Great, even. Um, okay. We should…you know." His eyes flicked to the door, meaning that words were not coming out as he wanted them to and he was desperate to leave.

"Okay, okay," I said, walking past him. "I get it. I look sexy and you'd totally bang me if we weren't in this situation."

As Gaara placed a hand on my back to gently push me toward the door, he gave an irritated huff. He didn't say I was wrong, though.

()()()

Even though I told myself over and over again to break out the sex appeal, it was just not working for me. I wasn't a naturally sexy person. It was something I had to work extremely hard on. Not to mention that the lackluster make-up caked on my face or the pathetic half-waves of hair that tumbled down my back hardly gave me that boost of confidence I truly needed. Gaara and Kankuro tried. They really did. But where was Temari when I needed her?

"Okay," I whispered to myself, starting out into the streets of Kirigakure. Heads turned, but that was expected. Actually, that was what I wanted. I needed attention.

The dress was uncomfortable, but the midnight black color made me feel a little better about my appearance. I was never extremely self-conscious about my body, but the shading made me feel slimmer, which I was okay with. It matched my eyes and my hair, making the necklace stick out. Beneath the back of my hair, just along my neck, I could feel the soft tickle of sand grains. It reminded me that somewhere in the village, Kankuro and Gaara were watching and tracking me.

This was the last time I would ever agree to be bait for kidnappers.

I wandered the streets aimlessly, pretending to casually wave to the citizens as if they were friends of mine. In all actuality, I didn't know a single soul. Maybe if the dangerous life of a Kunoichi didn't work out for me, I could become a famous actress? The way the villagers returned my friendly smiles and greetings made me believe I could actually pull off a life like that.

"Well, hello there," a man started, advancing toward me. I instantly felt threatened. It could have been the way his hands were shoved so deep into his pockets that I wondered if he was playing with himself or the overly cocky smirk on his face. He couldn't have been much older than Kankuro and he was definitely much thinner than I was used to seeing men his age. A drug addict, maybe?

"Hi," I replied, batting my eyes as annoyingly cute as I could. The man stopped walking a few feet in front of me, but I still inconspicuously took a tiny step away.

"You seem fancied up for something. How did you know I was going to take you out to dinner?"

As the sand on my neck swirled agitatedly, I noticed a small pile of it growing near the man's feet. Gaara apparently was not amused with him. Instead of drawing attention to it, however, I twirled strands of my hair around my fingers, pushing out my lips the way I did when I kissed him.

"Out to dinner, huh?" I asked, raising my tone into a higher pitch. "I'm sorry, but I'm actually married." The sand came to an immediate halt.

"Married?" the man snorted. His bloodshot eyes searched my hands before rolling back into his head for a split second. "I don't see a ring."

"Its being fitted," I lied.

"What about that necklace there?" His scrawny hands reached out for the necklace, but before he could touch it, I wrapped my own hands around it defensively and pulled myself further from him. As much as I hated the thing, it was my only connection to my sister at that point.

"It was a present," I told him. Although Gaara told me to not look for them, I glanced around nervously for the brothers. I couldn't see them on any rooftops or in the crowd that had stopped paying attention to me the second the man showed up.

"From your husband?" the man urged.

"From…my sister."

The next thing I knew, I was pinned to the ground. My head slammed painfully into the dirt and I wondered if I was bleeding. A dull aching surged its way through my scalp. The man was pulling my hair so hard that I felt as if it were ripping it out. Only then did I realize that I was being dragged. Nobody shouted for help or chased after me. I guess this sort of thing was normal for Kiri.

I wansn't afraid. Or at least, I wasn't as afraid as I should have been. The entire time the man hauled me from the village, the sand rubbed my neck. It was Gaara's way of telling me that everything was okay and he was watching. Nothing too horrible was going to happen to me.

Even so, I screamed until my throat ached. To silence me, the man delivered his fist into my jaw. For a moment, I was sure he had broken it, but I could still clench my teeth together as tears sprung from my eyes.

I couldn't tell where we were going; he had blindfolded me just before we left the village. I did my best to make my struggling convincing, but it was difficult. I wanted to badly to destroy this man. I knew if I did that, though, we would never find Haketa.

This experience went on for hours. Finally, I was thrown onto hard wood as the necklace was yanked from my neck. My skin throbbed in a sharp ache where the cord had scraped against it. A door slammed shut and I pulled the cloth from my eyes.

"What the fuck?" I asked myself, staring around at the dimly lit room. It was uncomfortably small and lacked a window of any sort. The only source of light came from a torch near the wooden door. There were no decorations on the walls. Just mahogany wood. The room smelled of a mixture of peaches, vanilla, and burning hair.

It reminded me vaguely of the attack on Konohagakure. Images of mutilated, charred, and dismembered bodies flashed through my mind. I hurried to rid myself of them.

"_This isn't the time to be thinking about that, Kyan. You need to find a way out of here,"_ I reminded myself.

I searched the room – it was more of an oversized cage than anything else – for an object I could use to pick the door. It had been locked from the outside and unfortunately, the room was stripped of anything that could've been used as a weapon or a pick. My eyes settled on the torch.

"No, I can't do that," I whispered. Knowing my luck, the wood wouldn't even catch fire. My hands found their way into my hair. Even if I had somehow started a robust fire, how would I escape? I'd probably just go up in flames along with the room.

I groaned loudly in frustration and sat against the door. As if I had somehow conjured him with my thoughts, the door opened and I fell into Gaara's legs. Without hesitation, he hoisted me up, taking my face gently in his hands to inspect me. Words weren't spoken, but his sigh of relief gave me a feeling of ease.

Running through the hallways of whatever building we were in, I noticed that windows did not exist here, nor did lighting fixtures. Just torches. We followed the echoing shouts that I eventually realized belonged to Kankuro. With every "fuck you" or "I'm going to kill you" we heard, Gaara ran a little faster. I struggled to keep up with him as heavy gasps of air escaped my mouth.

"Hey! How did you get out?!"

Gaara stopped suddenly. I crashed into him. Luckily, he caught me and held me straight as he glowered at the man who had taken me from Kirigakure. Unlike before, he was armed with a giant shuriken. Out of habit, I reached to my side for my tachi only to grab onto my thigh.

"Damn it," I hissed, pressing myself into Gaara. He was my only defense. I had to stay with him.

"What have you done with Haketa?" Gaara demanded to know, a cluster of slithering sand growing from the opening of his gourd.

"Who?" the man asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"My sister, asshole!" I shouted. "She looks just like me! Why did you take her?!"

The man scoffed. "She stole from us. That necklace that you were wearing? It belonged to us. That building? Yeah, that's ours, too. Don't go where you don't belong, little girl."

"Where is she?" Gaara asked. Although he was trying his hardest to contain himself, I could feel his palms begin to sweat against my skin. That only happened when he was nervous or livid. I assumed it was the latter.

"No need to worry about her. We've taken real good care of her." He laughed darkly and somewhere deep inside me, I knew Haketa was no longer alive.

The same rage I felt when I first laid my eyes on Gaara's body underneath Deidara boiled inside my gut. It exploded to every part of my being and before I could realize what I was doing, I was on top of the man, ramming my fists into his face again and again and again. I wondered why he wasn't struggling against me, but when I saw sand holding his wrists and feet to the floor, I only began to hit him harder.

()()()

I couldn't stop screaming. Even as Gaara wrapped his arms around me and pressed my face into his chest, the ear-piercing noise still seeped from my mouth. My sister, my protector, my role model. Gone. Just like that.

"We have to find Kankuro and get out of here," Gaara informed me, bringing me back from the images of Haketa I pictured in my mind. Her expression when I lost my first tooth, her tight hugs on my birthdays, that crease she got on her chin when she was stressed out while taking care of me when I was sick. I would never see any of that again. Her melodious laugh, her annoying scolding, her soft humming as she worked around the restaurant. I would never hear that again.

"I didn't even get to tell her that I love her," I managed to whisper.

"We don't know what's happened to her, Kyan. You're assuming," he replied, snaking an arm around my shoulder to help my weak body down the rest of the hallway. My bruised knuckles stung with the cracks that appeared about ten minutes into me beating the man. I didn't regret it. If anything, I wanted to do it again. This time, without him dying so soon.

A pained moan suddenly bounced against the walls. Once we realized that it came from Kankuro, a spark lit under my feet. The building seemed to contain a countless number of empty rooms. We searched every single one until finally, Gaara opened a door with a symbol of an 'x' printed near the doorknob.

"Kankuro," he whispered.

"Is he okay?!" I urged, standing on my toes to try to peek over Gaara's shoulder. Instead of allowing me inside, though, he turned and scooped me into his arms, taking me further from the room. "What're you doing, Gaara?! He needs help! Put me down!"

"Stop it, Kyan!" Gaara growled, trying to secure his body against my fumbling. Why didn't he want me to go into the room?

I was about to argue against him, but the soft sound of Kankuro's sobs silenced me. My body turned numb and when Gaara finally set me on the ground, my knees shook violently. He held me tightly against him to keep me stable.

"Is that…?" I couldn't finish. Not because I couldn't breathe or because of the fact that I was sure my heart was going to stop beating at any moment, but because I knew the answer.

Kankuro sat huddled in the dark room. His shoulders trembled with his fleeting breaths. In his arms was a body.

My sister's lifeless body.

**_End Scroll One_**


End file.
